He Always Remembered
by Kirino
Summary: He hated both the school and his city, and only his memories of her when they were children kept him going. He didn't forget; he just couldn't find her. When they meet again, would he still hate this place? Clannad AU, Kotomi/Tomoya.
1. Prologue: An Old Friend

_**Prologue: An Old Friend**_

_**/**_

I hate this city.

Every day, it's all the same. Go to school, attend lessons, prepare for the future. Spending time with friends, talking, laughing, crying, Day in, day out, nothing changes. Today was just like one of those boring days. No one was out on the streets as I made my way to school at this unholy hour; everyone was already in school for at least two hours now. This was how I went to school; always alone, not minding anybody, always late. My mind began to dismiss this as just another ordinary day I'd have to endure and pull myself through.

That is, until I saw her.

She was standing at the bottom of the hill that led towards our school. She seemed unsure; it was as if she was torn between going up the hill towards school and standing there for all eternity. Her chestnut colored hair billowed in the wind, secured by red hairclips at the sides.

I slowly approached her, upon which I noticed that she seemed to be sporting a pair of ahoge[1] which were, oddly, located at the front of her hair in such a way that she appeared to have a pair of antennae. I took a peek at her face, and thought that she might be slightly airheaded[1]. She reminded me of an old friend, a genius, one who I missed for the past ten years.

I idly brushed the thought aside. Kotomi was someone from the past, a past I painfully longed for. Long before my father stopped treating me as his son. Long before Kotomi secluded herself in her house ever since the day of her seventh birthday. I didn't even know her surname, or if she also went to Hikarizaka Private High School.

My thoughts were interrupted when the calm air was penetrated by the girl's timid voice.

"A-Anpan[2]!" she exclaimed softly.

I was standing right beside her, unsure if whether or not she was talking to me. I raised an eyebrow, and she continued,

"Do you like this school?"

I still had no idea if she was talking to me or not. She didn't bother waiting for me to answer though.

"I really, really, love this school. All the good things, all the happy things. However, things can't just stay the same forever. Even so, can and will you still love this place?"

She seemed like she was talking to someone deep within her heart. Even so, I was the only other person around her, so I felt compelled to answer,

"Just find them. Just find new and happy things."

"Eh?"

"When the happiness you see around you disappears, you'll have to stand tall and create your own happiness. Come on," I said. "Let's head off to school."

I don't know what compelled me to say that, but I felt that she needed encouragement. Somehow, I felt that we had something in common, as if she were a kindred soul.

That was all I thought of as she followed me up the hill towards school, with one exception: How come I felt like I had seen this girl before?[3]

/

When I arrived, fourth period had just ended, and people were milling about the classroom, talking about universities, upcoming examinations, and other things I deemed mundane to even spend a minute thinking about. I nonchalantly sat down in my place by the window and gazed upon the empty seat beside me. Apparently, Sunohara hadn't arrived yet.

Youhei Sunohara was a kindred soul. We were both delinquents who had a chance meeting in our freshman year, and we've been hanging out with each other ever since that day. Both of us found school boring, but with a companion abreast each other, we didn't give up, and despite the fact that it was half-hearted, we still attended school instead of dropping out altogether. I was about to peacefully rest my head on my desk to catch up on some more sleep when someone suddenly started to talk to me.

"Umm…"

I looked up at the voice and my eyes fell on a girl with short, mauve hair. She was slightly red in the cheeks and she seemed to be quite nervous. I raised an eyebrow and said,

"What is it, Fujibayashi?"

"Umm… I think you should go to school properly and on time more often, Okazaki-kun," she replied timidly.

I smirked and said, "Hmm, seems like you're acting like a real iinchou[4] today."

"N-not just like… I really am the class iinchou," she mumbled.

"Oi Okazaki, don't make the iinchou cry," barked one of my classmates. "If you do, that aneki[5] of hers is gonna come running in here."

"I'm fine. I'm not crying," Fujibayashi weakly uttered in protest at my classmate.

I knew Fujibayashi's aneki, so I decided to defuse a potentially dangerous situation and decided to play along with her.

"Fine then, but it'll depend on how I'm feeling tomorrow," I said flatly.

Her face brightened and turned redder, and then she continued,

"Umm then, in that case, please allow me to read your fortune for tomorrow."

She took out a deck of playing cards from her skirt pocket as she said this.

"Since it's my hobby, please let me, Okazaki-kun."

She nervously began to shuffle the deck, but her hands were shaking, so naturally, the deck exploded and the cards scattered onto the floor.

"Hey Fujibayashi, why are we playing fifty-two pickup? Come on, I'll help you."

"Wait! Okazaki-kun, you'll be late tomorrow," she said abruptly.

I literally fell out of my chair at such a half-assed fortune-telling. After all, how could she possibly get a credible reading from fallen playing cards?

"Fujibayashi, are you picking a fight with me?"

"But that's how the cards came out. I think that's how this brand of fortune-telling works."

"'Think?' You're not sure of what you're doing, aren't you?" I asked testily.

"That's not the case. Here, look," she said while picking up a card that had fallen face-up on the ground. "This is the queen of spades. On your way here, you'll have a romantic meeting with a kind girl."

Clearing her throat, she continued, this time indicating another card,

"This is the ten of diamonds, and this is the ace of hearts. You'll lose track of time and arrive late. Very detailed, isn't it?"

She held her arms up to her chest, as if she was afraid of pissing me off. Did I really look that intimidating to her right now?

"It's a maiden's inspiration," Fujibayashi said with conviction in her voice.

"Hey you, Tomoya Okazaki!" called a brash female voice.

I turned towards the voice and saw a Japanese-French dictionary flying towards my head. I ducked, the projectile barely missing my head, and shortly after, the windowpane, by mere inches.

"Onee-chan[5]," said Fujibayashi.

"Kyou," I muttered, facing the person who mere moments ago had nearly decapitated me. She looked exactly like her sister, only that her eyes were colored like an amethyst and she had waist-length hair.

This is Kyou Fujibayashi, Ryou Fujibayashi's older sister. She's got quite the temper, a temper which would soon be invoked, given the situation.

"Tomoya! You've got some guts to pick on my little sister," she shouted.

She marched towards me and roughly grabbed my necktie. What Kyou, are you going to drag me off to form some kind of weird after-school club dedicated to finding the mysterious?[6]

"You loser!"

"I was just talking to her," I defended myself.

"Yes Onee-chan, Okazaki-kun wasn't picking on me or anything," said Ryou unexpectedly.

Reluctantly, Kyou let go of my necktie, and her gaze moved over to the fallen cards.

"You had Ryou read you your fortune?" she inquired, nonplussed.

"Yeah. According to her, I'm going to have a romantic meeting with a girl, and thus, be late tomorrow," I replied with a hint of skepticism in my voice.

Kyou thoughtfully rubbed her chin and started grinning like a baboon that had just gotten hold of some food.

"What's with the weird grin?" I asked.

"Nothing important. Well, good luck," she said, patting me on the shoulders. She then left the room, skipping all the while, leaving both me and Fujibayashi standing by the mess that was her scattered deck of playing cards.

/

Lunch break came, and Sunohara was still nowhere in sight. I decided to get myself some cutlet sandwich at the cafeteria, but upon arrival, saw that it was jam-packed. I bought my cutlet sandwich and left the cafeteria, searching for a place to eat. As I wandered across the halls, I heard a few students talking by the lockers.

"A ghost?"

"Yeah, I heard she appears every now and then."

"Do you mean the ghost of that girl who got into an automobile accident some time ago?"

"Nah, it could be something else."

"Why wouldn't it be her? I even heard rumors saying that she was cute."

I didn't give their conversation much attention, and continued to walk the halls, searching for a place to eat. Something then caught my eye, and I stopped walking, instead looking out of the windows into the courtyard. My eyes fell on the girl I met at the bottom of the hill this morning, and I decided to approach her. Once again, I wasn't sure why, but I felt this girl wouldn't mind talking to me.

"Hey. You alone?" I asked. "Why don't you eat in class with your friends?"

She paid me no heed, and she continued to munch on her anpan, similar, but not as good as the confection I held in my hands.

"Hey, are you even paying attention to me?"

"Please excuse me, but I'm eating right now," she replied nonchalantly.

"Okay," I replied, sitting down beside her on the stone bench.

I didn't do anything for the next few minutes but observe her while eating my cutlet sandwich, and soon enough, she finished and properly disposed of her trash in the trash bin. She sat back down on the bench, and slowly turned to face me.

"Umm, what can I do for you?" she asked politely.

"Nothing, actually. I just wanted to ask why you're eating lunch out here alone," I replied.

"Do you like this school?" she asked once again.

I grimaced slightly, and replied,

"Not particularly."

"I really, really love our school," she said. "I used to have friends and teachers that I got along with, but now…"

She trailed into silence, leaving me wondering just what had happened to her.

"Did something happen?"

"During the previous academic year, I was on leave for quite a long period of time. So I'm…"

She hesitated, and I completed her sentence for her.

"You're repeating."

"Yes, I am repeating," she said with a small smile on her face.

The smile looked sad. After all, she seemed to be facing all these difficulties alone.

"All the people I knew graduated, and now, I don't know anybody here in school," she said, her voice laced with sadness. "I feel like a fish out of water… Ah, I'm sorry, the things I'm saying to someone I've just met."

"Didn't you join any clubs?" I inquired.

"Well, I really wanted to join the Drama Club, but I'm physically weak, so I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to participate in the club's activities."

"Nevertheless, you still should've tried, at the very least. It would've been better for you to try then fail rather than not trying at all. All you have to do is participate to the extent that you can, so that you won't regret anything. Hey, look up there, on the rooftop," I pointed towards two girls chatting up there.

"If you always look this sad, you won't make any friends. Why don't you try waving at them, get them to notice you?" I suggested.

She reluctantly did so, but by the time she had mustered enough courage to wave her hand, the pair was gone.

"Guess they didn't notice you," I remarked neutrally.

With a sigh, she replied, "I don't have much of a presence in class either."

I knew exactly what she was talking about, but for different reasons. She was bad at making friends among complete strangers, but Sunohara and I were avoided because we were delinquents. Suddenly, a mechanical sound rang in the distance, by the track oval.

"Hey, what's that sound? Let's go check it out," I said, as the two of us got up from where we were seated and followed everyone else towards the commotion.

I found Sunohara exuberantly watching the commotion that was happening on the field, so I decided to ask him what the hell was going on.

"Sunohara, what's up?"

"I think those guys are here for a fight," he said, pointing at what appeared to be a gang of delinquents from the nearby engineering school on scooters.

Suddenly, quite a few girls squealed, pointing at a lone figure approaching the delinquents.

"What's she going to do to them? Lecture them?" asked Sunohara.

"I'm going to go over there and help her out," I said, taking off my cream-colored blazer. "I can't just sit here and watch a girl get torn to shreds by delinquents from that other school."

"You don't have to worry, it is Tomoyo-san after all," said a girl that was watching the scene with much interest.

"Eh? Tomoyo?"

"You don't know her? She transferred here as a second year starting this spring," the girl replied. "Tomoyo Sakagami-san. She's really strong, and I think you might just get in her way if you go out there."

I looked at the field and saw that Tomoyo was just at a standstill with those delinquents on bikes. I just decided to listen to the girl's words and watch this entire thing unfold on its own. Apparently, whatever Tomoyo was saying was ticking off the delinquents, because they suddenly gunned their scooters towards her. In a flash, I saw her leap off the ground, and squarely kick both riders in the jaw, sending them both flying off their scooters. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted at what I had just witnessed. Leaving Sunohara and the bystander behind, I turned and saw that she had just been standing behind me and Sunohara during the entire event, and we silently made our way back to the courtyard.

"So she's a transfer student," said the girl.

"Yeah. She's in the same boat as you, and yet she's immensely popular. Everything depends on the individual," I said sagely.

"I guess you're right," she mumbled.

Looking at this in context, I realize that I am a hypocrite to be lecturing her like this. Of all the people who could possibly talk to her about making friends, I'd normally be one of the last people to ask. I'm one to talk, I guess.

"Hey, I have to go now," I said, standing up.

"Wait! Umm… Thank you very much," she said sincerely, bowing.

I guess after sharing such a talk, the least I could do was to introduce myself.

"I'm Tomoya Okazaki from 3-D," I said.

"I'm Nagisa Furukawa from 3-B," she replied in turn. "It's nice meeting you. Yes, nice to meet you too, Tomoya Okazaki-san."

She smiled at me, and I said,

"See you, Furukawa."

Afterwards, I made my way back to my classroom.

/

"Hey, Okazaki," whispered Sunohara.

"M?" I sleepily answered.

"Tag along with me. I'm going to do some investigating on Sakagami," he replied.

"Mm," I replied, going back to sleep.

It seemed that I had unwittingly agreed to accompany Sunohara on his investigations on Tomoyo. He called her out of her classroom, and so here we are talking in the hallway, with Sunohara insisting that she rigged the fight with the delinquents earlier that day.

"I bet you paid them or something just so they would lose on purpose, and then you'd become popular," said Sunohara. "Or maybe you paid them with, ah, _other things_. Stupid guys like them would fall for such tricks."

"I was thinking I wouldn't have to hurt people in the same school, but your insults have seriously offended me. I'll make a special exception and fight you," said Tomoyo.

I took a step backwards, while Sunohara continued taunting Tomoyo,

"You're so cute acting tough. Deep inside, I bet you're scared stiff that you have to fight against someone as athletic as I am."

"You make the first move and strike me. I would like this to be labeled as self-defense," said Tomoyo in a crisp tone.

"Don't be so full of yourself!" exclaimed Sunohara as he rushed towards Tomoyo, his right fist clenched tightly.

I seem to have remembered hearing about Tomoyo Sakagami long before this moment. The story of a young middle school student, walking around Hikarizaka City, picking fight after fight with gangsters who troubled ordinary folks, and disposing of them easily. Her actions had become stuff of legend by this time.

"So that's how the rumor went," I flippantly told a Sunohara who had painfully fallen face-first onto the floor, thanks to Tomoyo.

"Thanks a lot, Okazaki," grumbled Sunohara.

"Please do not trouble me any longer," said Tomoyo, as she turned away from us and walked away.

Class had already ended, and I decided to go to the third floor of the old school building. If I wasn't mistaken, this was where the Drama Club should be located. My expectations were met, as I saw Furukawa standing outside a door, hesitating to go in. I read her lips utter the word "hamburger", and she opened the door.

"Excuse me, umm, but… eh?"

Her voice was surprised, and I immediately rushed towards her. I looked into the room, and saw nothing but piles of cardboard boxes irregularly stacked on top of each other. That's when I remembered that the Drama Club had closed down in March due to lack of members.

"Okazaki-san. I didn't know you were there," said Furukawa.

I pat her head gently in a gesture of comfort, and she asked,

"What's this hand for?"

"No reason."

We ended up hanging out in the courtyard again, and I decided to tell her what I remembered.

"You know Furukawa, I just remembered that the Drama Club closed down last March. It seemed that they didn't have enough members to continue club activities. Of course, that means that if the right conditions are met, the Drama Club can get reinstated and back on track," I explained. "Why don't you give this another shot, huh? I'll help you too."

She stiffened, and asked,

"Okazaki-san, why are you being so kind to me when we've just met each other?"

Indeed, why? Why am I being really nice and helpful to Furukawa, whom I had just met this morning? Even going as far as to pledge my assistance; this was most definitely out of character for a person named Tomoya Okazaki. I just decided to be honest with her when I said,

"Why? Yeah, I do wonder why…"

She just gave me a bright smile, and said,

"In that case, I'll look forward to working with you in the near future, Okazaki-san. Umm, if you'll excuse me, I have to go home. I still have to prepare dinner."

"I see. Let me accompany you for a bit then," I replied.

We left school and walked up to the intersection. She stopped and said,

"My house is the bakery just ahead, right in front of the park. If you ever feel like it, please come and visit us."

"Alright Furukawa. You take care, and see you soon," I said.

"Goodbye, Okazaki-san," she said.

I turned away from her and decided to go back to school. It wasn't even five in the afternoon yet, so I guess I'd waste my time in school until I was forced to leave. I didn't want to run into my father at home again. I continued to think about why I wanted to help her, despite having just met her. Maybe it was because I longed for a good female friend? I did have Kyou, but things were pretty much like a see-saw with her, the way her temperament was. And then I thought of _her_ again… Did I really see that much of Kotomi in Furukawa?

Upon arriving at the school grounds, I entered the new building and thought of a good place to waste time. I thought of two places, the main library, and the smaller library, which was now a reference room: a repository of literature and teaching materials that weren't used often by both faculty and students alike. I decided on the former, thinking that I might be able to find some of the manga I once read as a freshman. To be frank, this was the first time I visited the library ever since that day in my freshman year where we were toured around the school.

I made my way towards the library, and carefully opened the door and entered. The library looked quite empty, and this was the perfect place to take a nap until the janitor sent me away and locked the place up. I was about to settle into a sofa when I saw a person sitting in a _seiza_[7] position on the floor of the library. I approached the person and saw it was a girl, and she was surrounded with technical books, books that I would be able to comprehend as much as Ancient Greek literature.

The girl looked up as I approached and we both gasped loudly at the same time. Her mouth formed a perfect "O" as she dropped the book on particle physics she was reading. I myself was shocked; I didn't expect to find _her_ here.

"It's you. You finally came," she said in a small voice. She seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Yes. It's me. I've missed you for all those years… Kotomi-chan."

/

_Author's Notes:_

_[1] – ahoge – An ahoge is a small tuft of hair which vertically stands up on a person's head. It is believed to indicate idiocy or airheadedness, but this is not always true._

_[2] – anpan – Quite literally, sweet bean bread._

_[3] – If you've finished the Clannad TV anime, the extra episode of After Story featured Nagisa bump into Tomoya at the opening ceremony when he was still a junior._

_[4] – iinchou – In case you don't know, which I doubt, the iinchou is the Class Representative._

_[5] - aneki, onee-chan – You probably know this already, but these terms refer to one's older sister._

_[6] – This is a reference to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, as that is exactly what Haruhi did to Kyon on the day she declared that she would create the SOS Brigade._

_[7] – seiza – A seiza sitting position is a sitting position where the person folds their legs with the instep of the feet being the area where the most amount of weight is placed on._

_I don't think I've ever written anything this detailed in all of my history as a fanfiction writer. I've analyzed other good fics, and I realized that the bulk of my fics is often made up of dialog, which renders the background and surroundings relatively colorless. From hereon out, I've decided to be a more descriptive writer, but not to the point of sacrificing plot just for the sake of Purple Prose._

_Read and review please, and until next time! :D_


	2. Reunited

_Disclaimer: I do not own Clannad, or any of the characters in this work of fiction._

_Onto the next chapter!_

_/_

**Reunited**

"Tomoya-kun," said Kotomi quietly, the tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "It's really you."

Without another word, I knelt down beside her and I hugged her as tight as I could, channeling all that I felt during those years that we hadn't been with each other. She hugged me back gently, and I felt that deep down, she really missed me too. After a short while, we let go of each other, and a smile appeared on her face. Naturally, I found myself smiling too.

"Yeah Kotomi, it really is me," I said without preamble. "I didn't know you also studied here! I'd have thought, someone as smart as you would've gone to America to study."

She shook her head, wiped away her tears, and said,

"I was offered a scholarship to study in America when I was in middle school, but I declined and said that I would go to Hikarizaka Private High for my high school studies."

"And why did you turn it down?" I prompted.

"Because I hoped I would meet you here," she said simply.

I was taken aback. She threw away her chances at a future in America, just for the _chance_ to see me. I felt overwhelmed by such an action, because after all, I was Tomoya Okazaki, a 100 percent certified delinquent. How could such a kind genius care for me so much?

"But Kotomi… Why? Why did you do that? Not that I don't appreciate it, but why?" I asked, spreading my hands in front of me as I said so.

"Because we're friends, Tomoya-kun. Even if we haven't seen each other in ten years, we're still friends. Right?" she asked quietly, her eyes penetrating my own.

"Of course we are, Kotomi," I answered immediately. "We'll always be friends, you know that. But I do want to know, how come you started to lock yourself up in your house? Did your parents forbid you from seeing me or anything?"

An amusing thought entered my mind upon me saying that: What if Kotomi's parents knew that I would become a delinquent someday? It was a dumb thought, and I merely brushed it aside.

"Umm… No, not really, that's not the case," she replied. "It's just that…"

Her voice took on a somber and heavy tone as she continued,

"A lot of things happened, and I'm not comfortable telling anybody about this yet. Even you, Tomoya-kun. Please forgive me."

"Was it because the man who entered your house that day thought that I caused the fire?"[1] I asked.

"No, it's not that. It's somewhat related to it, but… Tomoya-kun, I don't want to talk about this anymore. Please?" she pleaded, her eyes imploring me to stop asking questions that were related to those events ten years ago.

I stared at the floor as I replied in a somber voice,

"Okay. I'm sorry for badgering you with questions at the moment we just saw each other again, Kotomi. I apologize."

I bowed deeply, afraid that I had offended her, right after meeting her again for the first time in ten years.

"Don't do that, Tomoya-kun. Please raise your head," she said kindly.

I complied and she continued,

"It's natural for you to ask such questions, but I can't really talk about it right now. I don't know when, but I promise, someday, I will tell you all about it. Okay?"

I nodded and changed the topic, hoping that her mood would brighten.

"So, Kotomi, what are you doing here in the library this late? Studying for exams?"

"Not really. I was just reading up on a few things that were related to the things my parents were… are working on," she replied.

"I seem to remember that your parents were physicists, right? Oh, Kotomi, I'm so sorry, but I don't know your surname. You never told me what it was, and I just called your mother obaa-san."

Kotomi's eyebrow twitched, and she answered in a soft voice,

"It's Ichinose. You're right, I never did tell you, but then, you didn't ask either, Tomoya-kun."

"It's only fair then," I said heartily. She smiled, and I continued to talk.

"How often do you spend time in the library reading up on things I can barely understand anyway?"

"I'm always here in the library, even during class hours. I love reading books, because it's my hobby too," she replied in that breathy voice of hers.[2] "The teachers gave me special permission, so I'm allowed to skip classes and stay in the library to read, since I… get top scores in the exams anyway."

She reddened at this statement, and I chuckled. Apparently, she doesn't like praising herself. I didn't blame myself for not knowing that she went to this school to begin with, even if she was a top scorer on most of the exams. This was because when exam time rolled around, Sunohara and I would just take the exams and loaf around. Not once did we bother with checking what scores we got on the bulletin boards by the staff room. We really didn't care anyway.

"Tomoya-kun, what's so funny?" she inquired, taking out a pair of scissors from her pocket.

"Oh nothing, I just find you kind of cute when you blush like that," I replied nonchalantly, while she reddened some more.

She opened one of the physics books she was reading to a certain page, and she moved the scissors in. I was almost a split second too late in stopping her.

"Oi, Kotomi, why are you cutting up those books? You know you can't do that, because it's property of the school library."

Her face fell, and I said in a softer tone,

"You might get in trouble if you do that. I don't want that to happen to you."

She nodded, and said,

"I have a reason for doing this but… I think I'll tell you too sometime, but not now."

I facepalmed. What's with all the secrecy, Kotomi? We meet for the first time in ten years, and you can't tell me a few things? Well I admit, we only played together for a few months, and to top it off, our meeting was by chance to begin with.

"Okay, I get it. Something bugs me though. How come you would rather stay here in the library instead of attending classes with your friends? Sure, classes can be boring, but I'm sure someone like you would have many friends."

Sure, because you did make friends with someone like me who just wandered into your yard one day ten years ago, right?

"That's not really the case. Ever since I started attending classes here, I never had a single friend," she replied, her voice laced with sadness.

"How come?"

"Because people would always say that I was too smart for them, or that I was too gloomy to be around with."

The Kotomi I knew from ten years ago was a very cheerful and inquisitive person. She would always ask her parents about how things would work, how the stars populated the sky at night, and other such things. She always had a smile when she played the violin. The only time my memory of her was one of sadness was that night ten years ago, on her birthday, which was also the last time I saw her until this very day. Perhaps what she doesn't want to tell me right now contributed to her current outlook. I decided against asking more questions; I didn't want to trouble her again right now.

"Okay, but I have to ask: If you skipped out on America to meet me, why didn't you approach me at all?" I asked, despite knowing the answer.

Why would she approach a childhood friend who seemed to be beyond hope as a student? I was, after all, a bonafide delinquent, and her studies might be tainted if she associated with me. That was what I thought was the reason why she never approached me for three years in high school.

"Because in our freshman year, you always seemed so sad, and I never thought I could cheer you up. And then you met a friend during that year, a blond haired guy, and I saw that you sometimes had a smile on your face when you were with him. So then I thought, maybe he can do a better job of keeping Tomoya-kun happy than I could."

Sunohara. That bastard. It was indirectly his fault that Kotomi didn't approach me! Okay, I admit it was unfair to think of it that way, but Kotomi might have approached me sooner if we weren't friends. Nevermind, even I'm not that heartless to discard Sunohara like a piece of trash. I'm not Kyou, after all.

"And then in our junior year, you became friends with a girl as well. She had long, mauve hair, and from what I saw of her, I always thought that she might be a bully, so I never plucked up the courage to approach you, Tomoya-kun."

Speak of the devil. So Kotomi was scared of Kyou? Oh man, I must be terribly unlucky to be associated with those two.

Kotomi's face brightened then and she continued,

"But I'm happy now, because you and I, we can be friends again, just like when we were kids."

I moved in closer to her and hugged her.

_Boing_.

_Boing._

_Boing._

What the hell? I looked down while I was hugging and I saw that her breasts were pressing into my chest while we hugged each other. _Holy shit, she's even better endowed than Kyou!_ I broke away, fearing that she might have sensed my short moment of perversion.

With an inquisitive look on her face, she asked,

"What's wrong, Tomoya-kun?"

I reddened slightly and said,

"It's nothing, don't mind me."

We both heard the library door open, and a voice rang through the air.

"Hello? Is anybody in here? We're locking up the school now!"

"We're coming out now," I called back at the maintenance personnel. "Kotomi, let's tidy up the books you've been reading, and then let's get out of here," I said to her.

She nodded, and the two of us started to pick up the numerous books that were spread around us on the floor. We put them back on the shelves, filing them properly as we did so. I put back the cushions we were using on the sofa, and we exited the library, closing the door behind us as we left.

"Kotomi, is it alright for me to accompany you home?" I asked.

"I'd be happy if you did, Tomoya-kun," she said, while we walked out of the school building.

/

"…"

"Hey Kotomi, why did we stop walking? We're not at your house yet," I said.

Indeed, we were still at the intersection where I left Furukawa earlier. Kotomi's house was, according to her, in the other direction, but for some reason, we stopped walking right here.

"Tomoya-kun, until here is fine," she said quietly.

I started to protest, but then I remembered: Maybe she doesn't want me to see her house just yet. It might be related to the other things she didn't want to tell me earlier.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" I asked, more out of concern than trying to come with her all the way to her house.

"I'll be fine, please don't worry. Oh, I'd like you to have this," she said, taking something out of her school bag which was crammed with heavy textbooks. I made a mental note to carry her bag for her next time we walked like this.

She gave me the object that she took from her bag, and I saw that it was a bookmark with cute circular creatures designed all over it. This looks somewhat familiar…

"Say Kotomi, is this the Big Dango Family on the bookmark?"

"Yes it is, Tomoya-kun. They're cute, and I like reading books too, so I bought that bookmark in a bookstore by the shopping district. As a reminder of us meeting again today, I'd like you to have it."

I didn't particularly care for something as old as the Big Dango Family, but since it was a gift from Kotomi, I'll take it.

"I'm sorry that I have nothing to give in return, Kotomi, but… Here, I know: Tomorrow, I'll let you meet a friend of mine. I'm sure you'd like more friends, and I know that the two of you would get along very well with each other."

Introducing Kotomi to Furukawa seemed to be a good idea, because both of them weren't confident in making friends. I could introduce Kotomi to Fujibayashi and Kyou as well, but… I'll have to convince her that Kyou wasn't a bully. As for Sunohara… Nah.

"Is that really okay with you, Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi asked, her eyes once again softly set on my face.

"Of course it is. What are friends for, after all? We'll have to work on your introduction though; it can't just be me doing all the work, right?"

"I think that's fine, Tomoya-kun. Please treat me well," she said, bowing. "I'll be off now. See you tomorrow, Tomoya-kun."

"See you, Kotomi."

Don't worry Kotomi. I'll take care of you from now on.

/

_Author's notes:_

_[1] – In the anime, Tomoya was present when Kotomi set her house on fire out of grief because of her parents' deaths. Tomoya doesn't know why she did this though._

_[2] – Kotomi's breathy voice is due to the fact that she is voiced by seiyuu Mamiko Noto, who is quite famous for that breathy voice._

_Hey, I'm sorry if this chapter was shorter than the prologue, but I honestly felt that Tomoya and Kotomi reuniting deserved a chapter to itself. Don't worry: next time, Kotomi will meet most of the future Drama Club, and both Tomoya and Kotomi will be meeting Fuko soon._

_R&R if you don't mind, so until next time!_


	3. Building Bridges

_Disclaimer: Key Ani owns Clannad, not me. If I did, well… Nevermind._

_Enough babble. Now I present chapter two!_

_/_

**Building Bridges**

I bade goodbye to Kotomi and made my way back home. As I slowly walked, I silently prayed that my father was either asleep or out of the house. As always, I didn't want to deal with my… housemate, so to speak. Hands in my blazer's pockets, I wandered across the streets of Hikarizaka; the sun had finally descended behind the clouds. The street lamps began to turn on, one by one, and my path was suddenly well lit. I gazed at nothing in particular as I walked, and I spotted a vending machine by the roadside. I decided to quench my thirst and bought myself a can of cola. I casually leaned against the machine while sipping my drink, looking across the road, over the cars that passed by, at the other side. My eyes fell on a street performer doing stunts and tricks; passerby were stopping and looking at him with thinly-veiled interest. After a few moments, my drink was empty, so I decided to dispose of it and continue my way home.

Frankly, I was dawdling; I really didn't want to run into my father right now. However, when I arrived home without further incident, the sight of him slumped lifelessly on the floor, beer bottle in hand, legs smothered by other empty bottles of beer and sake, really evoked the tiniest bit of sympathy I had for my father. The television was left on, and the news anchorman was droning on and on about construction and land development plans in Hikarizaka within the next two years. I scornfully gazed at the trash that littered the living room floor, not even considering cleaning up, as within a day or two my father would get the place this dirty all over again. I looked at his form, belly lying on the floor and sighed. At the very least, I should move him to the bed.

"Hey Pops," I murmured, setting his body upright against the thin walls. "If you're going to sleep, you should at least lie in bed. Hey Pops. Pops. _Otou-san_, please wake up."

His eyes weakly fluttered open, and he groggily answered, breathing a scent that was a mixture of sake and beer on my face that caused me to involuntarily cringe away from him.

"M? Oh hi. It seems that I've brought some trouble to Tomoya-_kun_ again…"

I felt something snap inside me, and I could suddenly only see red before my very eyes. He reached towards me with his right hand, but I slapped it away and I ran out of the house, the tears beginning to fall from my eyes. I wandered aimlessly, not knowing where to go at this time of night. Ever since that day he snapped on me, he'd stopped treating me as my son, instead calling me Tomoya-kun. The honorific there was a symbol that he treated me, not as his son, but as an old friend. His voice earlier was not of a father apologizing to his son, it was the tone of him having scorned an old friend. The thought of it just pissed me off. Why he wouldn't think of me as his son anymore was beyond me, in all honesty.

I continued to wander about the city, passing through the shopping district, the arcade, the theater house, and I finally ended up at the intersection where I left both Kotomi and Furukawa earlier today.

The thought of Furukawa suddenly reminded me of her parting words earlier,

"_My house is the bakery just ahead, right in front of the park. If you ever feel like it, please come and visit us."_

Yes, that was what she had said. I looked towards the park and I decided to take Furukawa up on her offer.

/

I looked at the sign on the bakery across the park. "Furukawa Bread," it said. I continued to gaze intently at Furukawa's home, wondering if I should really pay her a visit. Sure, she did say that I could come anytime, but for one reason or another, I found myself hesitating.

"If you wish," said a voice which rang clearly through the park, waking me from my reverie.

I turned to the voice and saw that it was Furukawa. She was standing under a streetlamp, eyes closed, with one hand extended away from her body.

"Would you like me to take you? To the place in this city where wishes come true."

She clasped her hands together, as though in prayer, and the wind suddenly picked up, causing her hair to blow behind her just like when I met her earlier this morning. Her eyes then opened slowly, and her gaze fell upon me while I was gaping at her.

"Good evening, Okazaki-san. What brings you here tonight?" inquired Furukawa.

"I-I was just taking a walk," I replied casually. "What were you doing just now? Are you some kind of mystical being who can grant wishes?"

She smiled at what I was insinuating and she replied in turn,

"Of course not, Okazaki-san. I was reciting lines from a play. It's a play I want to perform when the Drama Club is reestablished."

"Oh, so those were lines…"

"I always practice here. Since I saw you coming, I decided to show you my performance."

"Are you sure it's alright for you to be practicing out here this late at night?" I asked.

"It's alright. My house is just right over there," she replied.

"But you don't seem to be the type that could get there before someone kidnaps you," I said bluntly.

She gave me a small smile and said,

"Don't worry, Okazaki-san. This part of the neighborhood is quite peaceful, so you have nothing to worry about."

"I see. But hmm, does this mean you're up to reestablishing the Drama Club?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered in a heartbeat. "I'm not sure to what extent I'll be able to try, but I'm sure that I'll be able to do my best."

"That's good. Now, about why I'm here… I felt like visiting your house. Is that alright?" I asked, despite her words that afternoon.

"Of course it's alright, Okazaki-san. Please go ahead into the house. I'll stay here for a while and continue practicing."

I decided to do as she said and I entered the bakery. The lights in the shop were all out; only the house's interior seemed to be lit at this time.

"Hello!" I called.

No one answered, but I stepped inside anyway. I inspected some of their leftover bread in the dark and one confection caught my eye.

"Rice cracker bread?" I wondered aloud, reading off the sign in front of the stack of circular shaped bread.

"That's this week's latest product. Why don't you try it?" said a sweet young voice.

The lights turned on, and I saw a young woman whose hair was in a ponytail that reached her waist. She looked like an older version of Furukawa. Is this her sister?

"I can try it? Don't I have to pay for it or something?" I inquired.

"No you don't. Those are leftovers, so it's fine," the young woman replied. "It's quite relaxing, don't you think?"

"Then I'll take you up on it," I said as I picked one up and took a bite from it.

_Crunch._

_Crunch._

_Crunch._

I looked at the bread and, as I expected, there was a rice cracker inside. Really, it's exactly what it says on the tin.

"You do have an amazing sense of naming, but your sense of baking is amazing too," I said between chewing.

"Really? It's a great idea, isn't it?" she said happily.

My face was starting to cringe from the weirdness of the taste, and I didn't answer her. She picked up on this, and asked in a shaking voice,

"Umm… Is there a problem with the bread?"

"I guess I'd better let you hear this, for your own good. Frankly, this bread is a failure."

She backed away instinctively as though I was a revenant of lightning and she said nervously,

"It wasn't delicious?"

"The taste has a problem in itself, but other than that, it's too difficult to eat. The cracker makes biting through the already tough bread much harder, and chewing this without a drink of some sort is too difficult. Frankly, you shouldn't be surprised that you have leftovers," I said harshly.

I heard her hiccup and I turned to face her. Oooh shit… Is she seriously crying?

"So… my bread… my bread is… naturally destined to be leftover!" she wailed, and without another word, she ran out of the door.

"So that's where the daughter takes after…" I said thoughtfully. "At the very least, I hope the dad's the sane one."

I felt a foot prod my back all of a sudden.

"Hey," said a voice.

I turned towards the voice and quailed under the sight that befell my eyes. It was the father, deftly holding a baseball bat that was slumped on his shoulder. I inspected him further and saw that he had toned muscles. In a few words, this guy could trash me in no time. He puffed out a ring of smoke, no doubt coming from the cigarette in his mouth.

"You said what you weren't supposed to say," he said in a threatening voice.

He pointed the bat at me only mere inches from my chin and I gulped instinctively.

"You should have finished the bread she offered and said that it tasted good," he continued. "That's what every person's duty here is. How they should be morally upright, considering such a person's feelings. The truth is always harsh, and to tell her that straight up would be too brutal for her."

He exhaled some more smoke and continued,

"All of the neighbors eat her bread and say that it's good. It's an unspoken rule around here, brat. It's the law, and you should obey it, 'cause _I_ enforce it."

He tapped his baseball bat threateningly on my shoulder.

"Or else, I'll knock you down like a twig in a hurricane. Wait. Huh?"

His face had a questioning look on his face.

"Oh. You have the same uniform as our daughter. Are you Nagisa's friend?" he asked roughly.

As if on cue, Furukawa entered the bakery.

"I'm back Dad! Huh? Why are you pinning Okazaki-san against the wall with your baseball bat?"

/

"You should've told me sooner, you idiot brat," said Furukawa's dad in a hearty voice.

How did it just come to this anyway? I was seated at the Furukawa's dining table, where both Furukawa's mom and dad were serving me some of their leftover dinner.

"I apologize for being so shameful in front of my daughter's friend," said Furukawa's mom, bowing as she apologized.

"Don't worry about it Sanae," said Furukawa's dad. "If he doesn't forget about it, maybe I can _make him forget_."

He eyed me devilishly and I shuddered.

"Akio-san, you shouldn't say such things to our guest," said Sanae.

Why did it turn out like this anyway? Seriously, none of this makes the slightest sense to me. I insult Furukawa's mom's bread, she runs out crying, and then her dad almost beats me to a pulp with his baseball bat. Shortly after, I was being served their leftovers? How in the hell did this happen anyway?

"Nagisa brought over a new friend as soon as term had started," said Akio.

"And he's a boy to boot!" chimed in Sanae.

"What!" exclaimed Akio angrily, his hands reaching for the collar of my shirt. "You're a guy?"

How could you just notice now?

"Maybe he's Nagisa's boyfriend?" proposed Sanae innocently.

"Bah! I can't give Nagisa away to such a puny guy," exclaimed Akio. It's a wonder the cigarette doesn't fall out of his mouth, the way he's talking. "Go home brat."

"Then please excuse me," I said, standing up and preparing to leave.

He pulled me back down to the floor and said,

"How can you even call yourself a man? If you're a man, you have to take away the woman you fell in love with, even if it means resorting to force!"

He had a steely glint in his eye as he said this, and I suddenly suspected that his wife's parents didn't originally consent to their union.

"Nevertheless, I still won't give her to you," he said proudly, his arms crossed.

Furukawa entered the room from the kitchen, bringing with her a tray with tea and some bread.

"Oh, you're all getting along well already," she said happily.

I seemed to have an exasperated look on my face, because Akio started to smack me on the shoulder.

"I think I shouldn't associate myself with this family," I said in a disdainful tone.

"See Nagisa, we're already able to fire harsh jokes upon each other," said Akio jovially, smacking me on the shoulder as he said so.

"Oh, you haven't introduced yourself yet," said Sanae.

"He's Okazaki-san. Tomoya Okazaki-san," said Furukawa.

"You should change your name to Galaxy Okazaki," exclaimed Akio.

"And while you're at it, make your last name Cosmos," said Sanae. "May we call you Cosmic-san?"

I sighed, and this madness involving my name continued. At some point, we had reached them calling me Ethanol, and I suspected that Akio was planning to drown me in sake to open up about my platonic love for his daughter.

As if.

Looking at them, they watched me eat their leftovers, and we ended up talking, and laughing. Was this the kind of family that I had been sorely missing? And Furukawa, she looked so much more confident and at home with her family. I felt happy that she had this kind of confidence deep within her heart.

And so it was time for me to bid them goodbye at the entrance to their house.

"Thank you for the food, Sanae-san," I said politely, bowing.

"Come back next time, Cosmic-san!" she called happily.

"Yeah brat, do come back and try to take Nagisa from me. As a man, you are compelled to do so!" shouted Akio, his fist in the air.

Furukawa turned red, and she said, "Good night, Okazaki-san."

"Thank you. I know the way back home from here, so don't worry about anything Furukawa," I said gently.

It was surreal. Such families do exist, I guess. I could only wish that applied in my own home…

/

"_Tomoya-kun!" called a motherly voice. "Kotomi-chan will be out of the bath in a moment. Come in, come in, make yourself at home while waiting for her. Here, have some cold orange juice."_

_She gave me a glass of ice-cold orange juice and she continued,_

"_It's great to have such cool drinks on a hot summer's day right Tomoya-kun?"_

"_Thank you Obaa-san," I said politely._

_She then left, reminding me that Kotomi would be joining me shortly. It never failed to turn out like this when I visited; I'd always come to the conclusion that Obaa-san was the mother I never had. This was only the fifth time I'd come over but already, Kotomi's parents welcomed me with open arms, and Kotomi herself had already warmed up to me._

"_Tomoya-kun! I'm here now!" chimed a breathy voice._

_Its owner descended the stairs, and I saw that she had a violin and bow in her hands. Kotomi was wearing a yellow sundress that seemed to be tailor-made for this kind of summer heat. I took note that her damp hair was not in her customary pigtails as she made her way towards the stand upon which her songsheet was placed._

"_Tomoya-kun, I have to practice for my violin recital today. It's in two weeks and I want to do my best for it. Is it okay that we can't play today?" she asked tentatively._

"_Sure, Kotomi-chan. I like watching you play the violin anyway. But next time, you have to show me where we can catch butterflies in your yard, okay? Let's shake on it, Kotomi-chan," I said with a smile on my face._

"_Okay, Tomoya-kun," she said as she gently shook my hand._

_It took her a while to let go and she seemed to be lost all of a sudden. She had a faraway look in her eyes and her face turned slightly red._

"_Hello? Earth to Kotomi-chan!" I said, waving my hands in front of her._

"_Eh? Ah, sorry Tomoya-kun. Here, I'll start on my piece."_

_She started to play the violin in front of my eyes. It wasn't perfect, but it was still very soothing to listen to. Soon enough, I was entranced and I was staring at Kotomi, who had her eyes closed, marveling in her skill with the violin. I found myself remembering what Obaa-san and Oji-san had told me on the first day I came here._

"_Tomoya-kun, was it?" asked Obaa-san._

_I nodded nervously and Oji-san spoke up._

"_Tomoya-kun, if it's not too hard for you, please be friends with Kotomi-chan."_

"_Yes," piped Obaa-san. "She doesn't have friends, and she would be happier if someone like you became her friend. Please? I'm sure you'll like her too."_

_I nodded and I pulled myself out of my memory of the previous month. As I sat in their living room, listening to Kotomi play the violin, I knew that Obaa-san was right. I did like Kotomi._

_/_

"Hey Furukawa, I'd like to introduce someone to you," I said.

We were on the way the third year classrooms, late as usual. I met her at the intersection and she insisted that she was waiting for me to come.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have the courage to continue," Furukawa had said.

I guess I could help her. After all, I would be asking her a monumental favor by becoming Kotomi's friend, right?

"Who is it, Okazaki-san?" asked Furukawa, looking at me.

"It's an old friend of mine, and she wants to be friends too. I'll let you meet her later during lunch time."

"Okay Okazaki-san," said Furukawa. "Hey, is that a Big Dango Family bookmark?"

She pointed to my schoolbag and sure enough, the bookmark that Kotomi gave me was protruding out of it. I took it out and gave it to her, and she began to gush about how cute the Big Dango Family is.

"Hauu! I wanna take them all home![1]" she cooed. "I'm thinking of putting up recruitment posters with the Big Dango Family on them. No one can resist their cuteness," she declared.

"You sound just like Rena Ryuuguu[1], you know," I said nonchalantly.

I dropped her off at the 3-B classroom, and I ignored the fact that it was fourth period already. I made my way downstairs to the library because I knew that Kotomi would be there. As I entered the room, she immediately looked up, and upon seeing that it was me, her mouth turned up into a small smile.

"Hello, Tomoya-kun. Good morning," said Kotomi, who was kneeling on the floor, reading her books.

"Good morning, Kotomi," I said as I sat down beside her.

I glanced at the books she was reading and I gave off an audible sigh. How the hell does she understand Latin anyway?

"Tomoya-kun, what's wrong?" asked Kotomi, a concerned look on her face.

"Hm? Oh it's nothing, I just wondered how you could read Latin, that's all," I said.

"Oh? Here, let me read this phrase to you. It's a phrase that was used by the Romans to greet people when festivities were being celebrated. It reads, _Vive, vale, gaude_, which roughly means 'Live, be well, and rejoice.'"

"Yes, we should rejoice. Kotomi, I'm bringing a friend over when the lunch bell rings. I told you this last night, and I think we should prepare your introduction. Here, let's give it a shot."

I asked Kotomi to stand up and to introduce herself to me as though she didn't know me.

"Umm… Kotomi. You spell Kotomi with three hiragana. When you talk to me, call me Kotomi-chan."

Hmm, not too bad… But then again, I'd be introducing her to Furukawa, so I imagine it would go something like this:

"_Kotomi. You spell Kotomi with three hiragana. When you talk to me, call me Kotomi-chan."_

"_My name is Nagisa. You spell it with one kanji character."_

"_Nagisa-chan," says Kotomi._

"_Yes!" says Furukawa with a smile._

"_My surname is Ichinose."_

"_Mine is Furukawa."_

"_I'm from 3-A."_

"_I'm right next to you from 3-B."_

"_My blood is Type A."_

"_Oh we're the same type, Kotomi-chan."_

"_Pork cutlet sandwich."_

"_Anpan."_

"_Elephant."_

"_Big Dango Family."_

Yeah, that certainly will get nowhere.

"Kotomi, that's fine, but I know of a better way to introduce yourself. Here, listen."

I stood up in front of her and said,

"Hello, my name is Kotomi Ichinose, a senior in class A. My hobby is reading books. I would be happy if you would be friends with me."

"Hello Kotomi-kun," she replied, bowing.

I think I collapsed and hit my head, because the next thing I knew was that I was slumped on the floor, unable to move.

"_You're_ Kotomi, not me!" I nearly screamed. "Are you trying to mess with me Kotomi!"

She shrunk back fearfully and said in a low voice,

"Tomoya-kun, are you a bully?"

Air got caught in my throat as she said this. I moved closer to her and she was trembling. She continued to shrink back, and I gave her a hug.

"Kotomi, I'm sorry that I shouted and scared you. I'm not a bully; please don't think of me that way," I said in a gentle voice.

She stopped trembling and she relaxed in my arms. I looked at her in the face and saw that she was close to tears. Apparently, she had really been frightened when I shouted. I took a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped her eyes gently, mouthing, "I'm sorry" as I did so.

The lunch bell suddenly rang, and I let go of Kotomi. She had calmed down now, so I said,

"Kotomi, I'll be fetching the person I want you to meet. Don't forget the introduction I taught you just now. I know you'll be able to get along with her, so wait here alright?"

She nodded and I left the library, running upstairs to find Furukawa. I nearly missed the 3-B classroom, and as she exited I grabbed her arm and said,

"Furukawa, I'm going to introduce you to my friend now."

"Are you talking about me Okazaki?" said a jovial voice that I would recognize anywhere.

_Oh shit_. I turned around, hoping against hope it wasn't him but alas, I knew it could be no one other than Youhei Sunohara.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" asked Sunohara.

"Oh, I was just wondering something about you just now. About how a person's palm size determines their intelligence level. They say that if your hand can cover your face, you're an intelligent person," I said seriously.

"Is that true Okazaki? Here, I'll check right now," he said as he raised his palm right in front of his face.

_Bingo_. I suddenly pushed his hand into his face and started laughing so hard.

"Dammit Sunohara, I didn't think you were stupid enough to fall for it," I exclaimed, choking between laughs.

"That hurt Okazaki," he grumbled.

"Okazaki-san, I don't think you should play such pranks on your friends," piped up Furukawa.

"Yeah, Okazaki, you shouldn't," said Sunohara, brushing himself. "Oh ho? What's this?"

He gestured to my hand which was locked around Furukawa's arm. I immediately let go and I saw Furukawa blush from the corner of my eye.

"It's nothing," I said. Might as well introduce those two to each other. "Sunohara, this is Furukawa. Nagisa Furukawa."

She bowed and said, "Pleased to meet you."

"Nagisa-chan is it? I'm Youhei Sunohara, the most handsome guy in Hikarizaka High."

Furukawa chuckled nervously and she said, "Pleased to meet you, Sunohara-san."

"So, since when have you fallen in love with Okazaki over here? I bet he bribed you or something."

Furukawa turned red and she replied, her voice high pitched, "That's not the case! Okazaki-san here was kind enough to help me in reestablishing the Drama Club."

"Huh? Okazaki—" he turned to me, "—didn't you say that you hated cl—"

I covered his mouth before he could say anything.

"Come with me to the bathroom," I hissed in his ear. "Furukawa, could you excuse us for a moment?" I said to Furukawa.

She nodded and I half-walked, half-dragged Sunohara to the bathroom. He cockily leaned against the wall and said,

"What gives, Okazaki? I thought you hated clubs? Why are you helping her out?"

I decided to lie right then and there. I didn't deem it important to tell him my motivations, since I didn't even know myself why I was helping Furukawa.

"You know that bakery by the park? Her parents own that bakery. If you become friends with her, they'll give you free bread."

"Is that so? You're one sneaky bastard, Okazaki."

Yeah, I am. Too bad you're on the receiving end. Just like that, I knew how to make this even better.

"And it's the dad who's the most generous. Just tell him that you've been going out with his daughter and he'll give you a lot of bread for free."

"No shit Okazaki? That's one bold dad," Sunohara exclaimed.

"Yeah he is. If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to," I said, leaving him in the bathroom without another word, ignoring his protests at being left while I "hogged all the bread."

I met Furukawa in the hallway where we left her. I told her that Sunohara had to relieve himself, and when I saw the disgusted look on her face, I smiled with satisfaction.

"Now, let's head to the library," I said.

/

"Kotomi, here's the person I want you to meet," I said. "Introduce yourself."

Furukawa and Kotomi stood in front of each other, inspecting the person across with interest. Furukawa smiled and Kotomi began to talk.

"Hello, my name is Kotomi Ichinose, a senior in class A. My hobby is reading books. I would be happy if you would be friends with me."

"My name is Nagisa Furukawa from 3-B. My hobby is acting, and I wish to reestablish the Drama Club," said Furukawa, bowing.

"May I call you Nagisa-chan?" said Kotomi.

"Sure. Can I call you Kotomi-chan?" replied Furukawa in turn.

"Please," was all that Kotomi said.

The two of them began to talk about many, many things. I smiled at them, seeing how happy they were with each other. The subject suddenly got to the Big Dango Family, and both of them were talking about how cute they were. Kotomi caught my eye and faced me fully, giving me a wide smile. I suddenly blushed, and looked away instinctively. I looked back at Furukawa and she seemed not to have noticed my reaction.

Lunch period ended, and we bade Kotomi goodbye. I told her that I'd be introducing more of my friends to her later.

"Umm, Okazaki-san, is Kotomi-chan your… your… girlfriend?" she stuttered.

"Huh!"

I faced Furukawa and she was completely embarrassed by asking such a question.

"She isn't," I said shortly. "She's just a childhood friend, that's all."

"Isn't it true that childhood friends usually end up together? I mean, look at Naru and Keitaro[2]," said Furukawa.

"This isn't Tokyo University[2], Furukawa," I said, chuckling. "You know, I want to introduce some of my friends to both you and Kotomi. Plus, we might be able to get them to join the Drama Club, if they want to. It's like killing two birds with one stone!"

"That's a nice idea, Okazaki-san," said Furukawa.

"I'll meet you later after class in the Drama Clubroom. Hopefully, I can get both Kyou and Fujibayashi to agree to come with me. You go bring Kotomi to the clubroom."

We arrived at our respective classrooms, and afternoon classes breezed by quickly. In no time at all, class had ended.

I approached Fujibayashi, who was packing up her school things and said,

"Can you do me a favor, Fujibayashi?"

She flushed when she realized I was talking to her and she stuttered,

"What i-i-s it, O-Okazaki-kun?"

"I'd like to introduce you to a few friends of mine. I'd be happy if you got your sister to come with us," I said.

She nodded, and we left the classroom, going towards the 3-E classroom.

/

"Tomoya, just what the hell is going on here?" asked Kyou.

"Just wait for a bit, I'll take you to the clubroom," I said hastily.

"Clubroom? What club is this? This had better not be one of your pranks!" she threatened.

"It's not, believe me," I said.

Kyou was easier to convince when she saw I had Fujibayashi with me, and without further ado, we made our way towards the Drama Club's room. I opened the door, and I saw that both Furukawa and Kotomi were already there. I entered, motioning to the Fujibayashi sisters to do the same.

I surveyed the room. Both Kotomi and Furukawa looked nervous, Fujibayashi was confused, and Kyou looked bored.

"Tomoya-kun, is she a bully?" asked Kotomi timidly, her finger pointing at Kyou.

Kyou looked insulted, and before she could retort, I hissed in her ear,

"She's bad at making friends, that's why I called you guys here. Hear me and the other girl out first," I hissed.

She grudgingly nodded and everyone sat down on the floor when I motioned for them to.

"I think we should start by introducing ourselves, everyone?" I pointed out. "Furukawa, you go first."

She nervously stood up, and she started to talk,

"My name is Nagisa Furukawa, a senior in class B. My hobby is acting, and I wish to reestablish the Drama Club. I would be glad to be friends with all of you."

"Kotomi, you're up," I gestured.

She stood up and began to talk in a timid voice,

"Hello, my name is Kotomi Ichinose, a senior in class A. My hobby is reading books. I would be happy if you would be friends with me."

Fujibayashi seemed to take her own cue, because she stood up without me telling her to.

"My name is Ryou Fujibayashi, from class D. My hobby is fortune telling, and I'd be happy to be friends with all of you."

Her sister went next,

"My name is Kyou Fujibayashi, from class E."

"My hobby is bullying the weak," I interjected.

"I'd be happy to be friends with all of you," said Kyou.

She then kicked me viciously in the gut with no forewarning.

"Whose hobby did you say it was to bully the weak?" she snarled.

"T-That's one damn good _tsukkomi_[3]," I managed.

"Okazaki-san!" cried out Furukawa.

"Umm… I'm actually very strong, so I don't want you to bully me," whimpered Kotomi, her hands balled protectively in front of her large chest… Wait, I didn't just think that, did I?

I fought the pain in my stomach and I shuffled over to Kotomi,

"She doesn't mean it. It's all part of our _boke_ and _tsukkomi_ routine[3]," I whispered, wincing.

She nodded, and she fell silent.

"This wasn't what I had in mind at all," said Kyou thoughtfully.

"Hey, Furukawa, why don't you tell everyone what you want to do," I called.

"Eh? But Okazaki-san, we haven't planned the open house yet!" exclaimed Furukawa.

"It's better this way if it's impromptu. Just tell them what you feel about acting in a Drama Club," I said.

So Furukawa stood up, and began to speak,

"I want to reestablish the Drama Club because I want everyone to experience what being in a club is all about. When I was younger, I was always sick, so I couldn't participate in plays, even if I wanted to. I've always wanted to act alongside friends. I had a clear desire to join the Drama Club when I set foot in high school; that I would do my best in acting throughout my high school life. But even now, I couldn't come to high school often, because I would be sick. I was absent for a long time last year, so I'm actually repeating my senior year."

She paused for a moment, realizing what she had just said, but Kyou, Fujibayashi, and Kotomi all just nodded and she continued,

"Even so, I'd still like to give it a try. I don't know much, and it might turn out bad, but I still want to give my very best. Okazaki-san helped me realize that. To work as one in a group, that was and is still my dream. I don't want anything more than that right now," she finished.

She sat down, and then all of us applauded. She had poured out her heart to us, and as I gazed upon Kotomi, Fujibayashi, and Kyou, I knew that we were just as willing to pour our hearts back to help her fulfill her dream.

_Not to mention help Kotomi along, _I slyly thought.

/

_Author's Notes:_

_[1] – This refers to Rena Ryuugu and her catchphrase, from __**Higurashi no Naku Koro ni**__. Both Rena and Nagisa have the same seiyuu, Mai Nakahara._

_[2] – This refers to __**Love Hina**__, though I bet you know this already._

_[3] – Boke and Tsukkomi, or manzai, is a style of comedy popular in the Kansai region. The boke says something idiotic and out of context, while the tsukkomi physically or figuratively jabs at the boke's statement._

_So, the Drama Club's roots have been set. Wonder what happens next…_


	4. A Newfound Friend and Echinoderms!

_Disclaimer: I don't know why I have to keep saying this, but Key Ani owns Clannad, not me._

_Enough with drabble, on to the next chapter!_

_/_

**A Newfound Friend... And Echinoderms!**

"Alright! Let's get started!" said Kyou enthusiastically. "Time to get the Drama Club back online!"

"Umm, Kyou-chan… May I call you that?" asked Furukawa timidly.

Kyou nodded, and Furukawa continued.

"What are the requirements for starting a club? I thought that I would ask an _iinchou_ like yourself, since you would probably know what I'd need."

Kyou raised her fingers to her chin, which she started rub intently, a sign that she was in deep thought. I don't see Kyou become serious like this all that often, so it truly was a sight to behold.

"You need members, of which there should be a minimum of three," replied Kyou.

"Onee-chan, don't forget, an adviser is also needed," interjected Fujibayashi.

Kyou nodded thoughtfully.

"Ah yes Ryou, thanks for reminding me. So Nagisa-chan, that's what you'd need to start a club. The member problem doesn't seem to be an issue, seeing as we are all gathered here."

Furukawa suddenly turned to me with an expectant look on her face. I instinctively gulped at her actions and a few well-chosen thoughts drifted through my mind. I really wasn't all too keen on actually _joining_ Furukawa's club; after all, I merely pledged my assistance, and not my membership should her plans come to fruition. I was about to open my mouth to decline and say that I didn't want to join Furukawa's Drama Club, however, Kyou, Fujibayashi, and Kotomi all followed Furukawa's gaze towards me. I mentally facepalmed; this was completely expected, after all, I did bring the three of them here, so it's really no surprise that they'd assume that I'd be one of, if not the first one to pledge my membership in Furukawa's club. So with these thoughts running through my mind, I decided to give my answer.

"Furukawa, I…"

My right eye drifted towards Kotomi out of instinct; despite the short time we had been reunited so far, I felt as if our friendship was never tarnished by the ten years that we had been separated. Upon seeing the expectant look on Kotomi's face, the reality of the situation hit me as hard as one of Asa Shigure's slaps on the back[1]: I _had_ to join the Drama Club. If I didn't, Kotomi might end up not joining as well, and that would completely defeat the purpose of my plans to get her more friends.

While all this was going through my mind, Kyou's voice pierced the silence.

"Well Tomoya, you were saying?" she said crisply, while Furukawa, Fujibayashi, and Kotomi continued to stare at me, as though I was a mildly fascinating museum exhibit.

"I, uh… Furukawa, I'll join your club, I guess."

Furukawa smiled radiantly, and Kotomi piped up.

"Nagisa-chan, I'd also like to join your club," she said, her hands balled in front of her chest, exuding fervor that all of us could feel.

_Mission accomplished_.

"Please include me as well, Nagisa-san," said Fujibayashi, meekly bowing her head as she said so.

"I'm on board as well Nagisa," said Kyou, her fist in the air.

I looked at Furukawa, and to my complete and utter surprise, her eyes were swimming with tears. She began to sniffle, and both Kyou and I just looked at each other; shock clearly written on our faces. This was not the reaction that any of us were expecting; Kotomi looked dumbfounded at the developments, and only Fujibayashi made a move as she got up from where she was seated and handed Furukawa her handkerchief.

"Nagisa-san, what's wrong?" asked Fujibayashi.

"I'm just really happy," she said amidst tears. "All of you… I just met all of you today, except for Okazaki-san and just like that, you're all willing to join my club."

Furukawa continued to wipe away the tears from her eyes using Fujibayashi's handkerchief, and Fujibayashi spoke.

"Nagisa-san, we're all friends now. Of course we'd be glad to help you realize your dream."

She wiped the last of her tears away, and a genuine smile broke across Furukawa's face, and she stood up.

"Thank you everyone, I look forward to working with all of you," she said while bowing.

"Alright, now that that's been taken care of, let's find ourselves an adviser," said Kyou. "Hey Ryou, would you know of any teacher who isn't advising a club this semester?"

"Well onee-chan , there is one. Koumura-sensei, from the Guidance Counseling office," replied Fujibayashi.

Ah, Koumura. There was one old man I was familiar with. If I knew any better, I'd say that he introduced me and Sunohara to each other two years ago on purpose. True, we were better off as friends than we were without, as before I had met him, I had always gotten into fights on school property, and from the looks of it, the same was with him. We eventually mellowed out into delinquents who skipped school and slacked off instead of delinquents who kept getting into fights. To Koumura, I owe many thanks.

"Ah yeah, Koumura-sensei isn't in charge of any clubs right now. Hey Ryou, let's go ask him right now. Since it's lunch break, no doubt that he'd be in the staff room," said Kyou, getting up on her feet.

"Alright then onee-chan, let's go find him," replied Ryou in turn. "Okazaki-kun, Kotomi-chan, Nagisa-san, we'll be back after we've gotten Koumura-sensei's approval."

The three of us nodded, and the two sisters left the room, leaving me with Kotomi and Furukawa. Without warning, Kotomi broke the silence.

"Hey, Tomoya-kun, how do you perform a good _tsukkomi_?" asked Kotomi. "Without really hurting the _boke_, of course."

I stared back blankly at Kotomi, wondering what had prompted her to ask such a question. Then it hit me; suddenly, my stomach seemed to hurt all over again.

"Why don't you get some small object to hit a person with? Something that is small, compact, and not enough to hurt someone if you're actually going to use it. For example, a newspaper would work nicely," I replied.

"Is that so, Okazaki-san? Sometimes, I see people on television using foldable paper fans. There was this one show I recall that had one character being particularly addicted to the _manzai_ style of comedy, so she kept hitting her friend's butler with a foldable paper fan every time the butler said something, and the other characters would just stare blankly at the two of them[2]," piped up Furukawa.

Now, that concept was actually pretty familiar. I could've sworn I'd seen an episode or two of that anime. What was that butler's name again? Hermione, was it? No, that was his crossdressing persona, not to mention that it was an extremely obvious parody of an extremely famous female witch[3]. Ah yeah, Hayate's the name[2]. Looking at it in context, I now knew where exactly Akio Furukawa got his sense of humor. Sighing internally, I turned back to the matter at hand.

"Kotomi, Kyou and I could teach you a thing or two, but we'd need supplies. Perhaps when we already have theater props, we could give it a shot," I said. _And maybe, Kyou and I could use Sunohara as our punching bag_.

The door to the future-Drama Club's room opened with a bang, and Sunohara's face appeared, drenched with sweat. Speak of the devil.

"Dammit Okazaki, I've been looking all over for you. I've thought of something about that Tomoyo Sakagami… Hohoho, what's this? Not only are you with Nagisa-chan, but you're also with the famous Kotomi Ichinose? Okazaki, you two-timing—"

I did not let him finish his sentence, as I walked up towards him before he could and I calmly punched him in the face. I heard the two girls gasp, but I pointedly ignored them and dragged the dazed Sunohara outside.

"What the hell was that for, Okazaki?" he growled, having regained some of his composure.

"Don't do anything that'd give Kotomi the wrong idea," I said briskly.

Sunohara suddenly had a cat smile on his face, and he grinned deviously.

"Hmm… 'Kotomi,' was it? Interesting bit you've got there Okazaki. I don't ever recall you associating with the school genius and now you're calling her Kotomi, just like that?"

"Shut up. We're just childhood friends, that's all," I said, downplaying my relationship with Kotomi… Wait, downplaying? That's how it really is, right? It's not like there's anything more to it… _is there_?

"How come you've never interacted with her in school then?"

"I never even knew until the other day that she attended this school!" I exclaimed. "She rarely comes out of the library anyway, so how should I know?"

"Are you sure you weren't trying to keep Kotomi-chan all to yourself? You know Okazaki, I know that you don't particularly like to share—"

I gave him another blow, this time to the stomach, and I continued as if I didn't just punch him.

"You were saying something about that Tomoyo Sakagami?"

He caught his breath after my vicious blow, and he continued, his face screwed up in pain.

"I have a feeling that she's actually a boy in disguise. No, I know that she's a guy in disguise. And might I add, that's one _hell_ of a good disguise."

Seriously Sunohara, did you just get confused and suddenly stop thinking[4]?

"Anyway, damn it, we're wasting a lot of time here. Let's go to Tomoyo right now; I need to settle my score with him… her… Ah whatever!" he said, throwing his hand up in the air in exasperation.

I popped my through the doorway and said,

"Oi, Furukawa, Kotomi, I have to go accompany this idiot someplace, so I might not be coming back. You two just wait for Kyou and Fujibayashi, and then we can continue our discussion on the club next time."

The two girls nodded, and I reluctantly followed Sunohara, feeling sorry for Tomoyo Sakagami as I walked in Sunohara's wake.

/

"What do you want this time?" asked Tomoyo bluntly.

We were standing outside her classroom; Tomoyo across from Sunohara, while I was playing the role of an innocent bystander, looking at the two with an air of interest.

"It's nothing this time, Tomoyo-chan. By the way, can I borrow your breasts?"

"Why would I want to lend you my breasts?" asked Tomoyo, one eyebrow raised.

"HA! Did you hear that Okazaki?" Sunohara shouted, turning towards me while pointing at Tomoyo. "Her statement clearly means that she's capable of lending me her breasts, which means that her breasts are detachable, which means she's a guy in disguise!"

I facepalmed. No Sunohara, the odds of her breasts being detachable are the same as the odds of a certain twelve-year old girl's pigtails being detachable and that said pigtails could be reattached to another person's head, thus granting them the power to _fly[5]_.

Tomoyo then looked at me and I shook my head, indicating that I had no idea on what he was rambling about and that she was free to kick his ass.

A short while later, Sunohara was sliding down the service chute, shouting colorful curses at Tomoyo who unexpectedly approached me.

"Hey, Okazaki is it?" she asked suddenly.

I nodded, and she continued.

"You're not involved with his antics, right?"

"I'm just here to see him humiliate himself in public," I said, chuckling.

She laughed a bit as well and said,

"Even so, thank you for not coming to the same idiotic conclusions he did."

Please, Tomoyo, don't associate me with Sunohara's convoluted sense of logic… if he even _has_ a sense of logic, that is. I did feel pity for her; having been around for only a few months, and yet she was already being harassed by an idiot such as Sunohara.

"I guess I'll do something about him. I don't want to make your mid-year transfer here already harder than it is," I said airily.

"You really would, Okazaki?" asked Tomoyo expectantly.

"Sure, Tomoyo, uh can I call you that?" I asked.

She nodded and replied,

"Thanks a lot, Okazaki. I don't want nuisances such as him to distract me from the goals that I intend to accomplish by transferring here."

She now had a completely serious look on her face, and her voice was laced with such conviction and passion that she could even put one Keiichi Maebara[6] to shame.

"And what would those goals be? Care to share them with me?" I asked lightly.

The bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of the lunch period, and Tomoyo said,

"Hey, Okazaki, why don't you walk with me going home today? Perhaps I can tell you all about it?"

My mind instinctively turned to a certain blue-haired girl, and I replied,

"Ah sorry Tomoyo, I have somewhere to be later, so I can't. Perhaps the next time we encounter each other? But I do hope that we encounter each other under better circumstances, circumstances not initiated by that blithering idiot Sunohara."

"True that," commented Tomoyo. "See you, Okazaki."

"Likewise, Tomoyo," I said as I turned away from her and headed back to my classroom for afternoon classes, classes that I would no doubt doze through anyway.

/

"Oi, Okazaki."

Nn? I blearily opened by eyes and saw that class was already over; students were filing out of the classroom, one after the other. I caught Fujibayashi staring at me with the strangest look on her face; one that was a mixture of disapproval and embarrassment. I raised an eyebrow at her and she turned away, gathering her things, and leaving the classroom after she had done so.

"What, Sunohara?"

"It's the end of the day. Accompany me somewhere, there's this junior who I'm going to 'borrow' stuff from," he said happily; no trace of the beating he received from Tomoyo could be seen in his sparkling eyes.

I raised an eyebrow in inquiry and said,

"Borrow? What would you possibly want to borrow from a junior?"

"His laptop computer. I caught him the other day sitting in an empty classroom, plugging his laptop into the socket. I snuck up on him and caught him playing _Shuffle!_"

I facepalmed. I guess there are people who're as idiotic as Sunohara in this school. What kind of idiot plays an eroge game in school while illegally siphoning electricity to boot? If he got caught by a teacher, they'd have a field day, and perhaps the biggest surprise was that neither I nor Sunohara was the perpetrator of the crime.

The conversation continued as we were walking down the hallways, and unbeknownst to him, I was planning to ditch him and head instead for the Drama Club's room.

"I'm too busy to be playing H-games with you, Sunohara. Besides, shouldn't those games be played alone? I really don't want to catch you playing with your _fur seal_[7] in front of me."

Sunohara turned pale with shock and I continued to milk the situation for all its worth, smiling deviously as I did so.

"Or maybe your ultimate turn-on would be the Primula route? You damn lolicon!" I said jovially, slapping him on the back as I said so.

As I had intended, people started to look towards us, and started to give Sunohara strange looks.

"… little girls huh?"

"… quite dangerous to be around such people."

"… does is read manga like _Operation Onii-chan_[8]."

"Wait, how the hell do you know what that is?"

"Uuh, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

The murmuring began to grow louder, and Sunohara turned red from embarrassment. He bolted away from me in the opposite direction, screaming bloody murder as he did so.

"I'll get you back for this Okazaki, if it's the last thing I dooooooooooo!" he shouted while sprinting away, his voice echoing in the hall as it grew fainter and fainter. I continued walking towards the Drama Club's room, and I found myself walking alone through the school's hallways. I never did stop to appreciate how serene it was to walk around peacefully like this.

That was a particularly easy method of getting rid of him. I'd only introduce him properly to Kotomi if I was left with no choice; after all, he isn't that bad of a person. Wait, am I feeling guilt for what I just did? Why is my chest tight all of a sudden?

I looked down and saw a small girl tugging my tie. No wonder my chest felt tight, of course I couldn't possibly feel guilty for doing that to _Sunohara_, of all people, right? Going back to the matter at hand, the girl continued to pull my tie.

"Hey. Why are you pulling my tie like that?" I asked.

The girl looked up and I saw that she was hiding something behind her back. She looked up at me and I got a better look at her face. She looked like a twelve-year old; her hair was long, fluttering down to beyond her waist, where a blue ribbon tied it into a poorly crafted ponytail.

"What's that behind your back?" I asked, tiptoeing above her so that I could peek at what she was hiding.

"No, strange person, you cannot peek at this present. Fuko has to give it to you properly so the meaning is not ruined," she said.

"Eh? A present? What on earth for? I don't even know you!" I exclaimed in confusion, my hands in the air.

"Please accept this, strange person," she said, holding out to me what appeared to be a…

"Is this a star?" I asked offhandly, taking the wooden object from her.

"You really are a strange person. Fuko says it's a starfish," she said smugly, folding her arms across her chest.

WHAT. THIS. IS. A. STARFISH?

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me by calling me 'strange person'?" I exclaimed angrily. "And how the heck is this supposed to be a starfish?"

"Because Fuko says it's a starfish, it's a starfish," she replied as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.

I facepalmed again. No point reasoning this out with her, so I decided to move on in the hallway.

"Thanks for this I guess, but I gotta go, I have places to be right now," I said, walking away from the girl.

"Wait strange person!" she called.

I decided to pointedly ignore the fact that she was _still_ calling me a strange person as I turned around to face her.

"Well, what is it then?" I asked.

"You have to do something for Fuko as payment for the present," she said nonchalantly.

I dropped the wooden sculpture on the floor and I followed shortly afterwards. While I was slumped on the floor, I raised a finger and inquired in a weak voice, speaking to no one in particular.

"Who the hell asks for payment for a present?"

"Anyway strange person, all you have to do is congratulate my sister with me for her wedding," she said.

Huh? Sister? Wedding? What?

"Okay, umm, Fuko, was it?" I asked, while getting up from the floor.

She nodded.

"Okay, so, yeah, umm, congratulations to Fuko's sister for getting married!" I said unenthusiastically, clapping my hands slowly at such a rate that a performer would be insulted.

"That's not how it should be! You should attend onee-chan's wedding," she said.

"But I don't even know her! Why would I want to attend her wedding?" I asked icily.

"Because, uhh, umm… She used to be a teacher here until three years ago. An art teacher," said Fuko.

"Tough luck; I wasn't around during her last year here. In fact, since I'm a senior now, no one else here would possibly know who she is, so having people attend her wedding because you gave them starfish sculptures is pretty iffy if you ask me. How many of these are you making anyway?"

"Around seven hundred," she replied, looking at me curiously, no doubt because of my sudden interest in what she was trying to do.

Seriously, seven hundred? But that's also around the number of students in this school… Don't tell me you're…?

"I'm going to make one for everyone in the school, so people can celebrate onee-chan's wedding with me," she said happily. "Ah, it's getting late. Fuko needs to carve more starfish sculptures to give out."

Without another word, she hightailed and left me standing all alone in the hallway, dumbfounded at what she was trying to do. Seriously, one for _every freaking student?_ It's nigh impossible to do that. She's not even sure that people would accept her presents.

Nevermind, this isn't really my business. It's more in Furukawa's domain to handle people like her. If I run into her again, I sincerely hope Furukawa would be with me so that she could interact with her. I continued my walk towards the clubroom, and when I arrived there, I saw that it was empty, but a few new features decorated the once derelict room. The cardboard boxes had been moved out, perhaps by the maintenance personnel, which meant that Kyou and Fujibayashi had gotten approval from Koumura, thus greenlighting the club's activities. Three tables joined together now occupied the center of the room, with chairs encircling it. Good thinking of them, it would make hanging around here be a lot more comfortable.

Seeing that they were all gone, I decided to head to Sunohara's dorm room to kill time, despite my refusal to watch him play H-games earlier. Kotomi was gone, Furukawa was gone; I couldn't have anyone else other than Sunohara accompany me on the way home. When I arrived at the gates, a curious sight was what I saw: Tomoyo standing across Sunohara, who was carrying a laptop bag in one hand and a DVD case in the other.

"Did I hear you correctly?" said Tomoyo testily.

"Yes, you did. I'm telling you, you should borrow this H-game from me. It's pretty awesome after all," said Sunohara, extending the DVD case to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo took the DVD case from Sunohara, and scrutinized the cover intently. "_Shuffle! Which girl would you choose?_" she murmured quietly.

After a while, she looked up and said,

"Looks interesting, but—"

"AHA! You said that it was interesting! Only boys play eroge games like those, so this is proof that you're a guy in disguise!" Sunohara said, having noticed me. "Be witness to this historic moment, Okazaki!"

I sighed and walked towards them. I turned to Tomoyo, and said,

"Calm down."

She nodded, but she looked pretty damn pissed off to me.

"Sunohara, how can you insinuate that girls can't play those kinds of things? What about girls who like other girls? How can you exclude them from the entire picture?" I asked.

"Well, that is, um, I meant to say that—"

"Go on to your dorm room, Youhei _Pornohara,_" I said roughly. "I'll take care of things here."

Sunohara looked at me with a questioning look, and suddenly, he smiled, as if some kind of understanding had dawned on him just at that moment.

"I see, that's how it is. First Nagisa-chan, then Kotomi-chan, now Tomoyo too. You're one slick dog Oka—"

He didn't get to finish because Tomoyo kicked him out of the gate onto the paved road, and he started to roll downhill. I was thankful that the laptop seemed to be in a sturdy enough bag, so no major damage would come to it.

"Okazaki, thank you for this," said Tomoyo, a smile on her face. "I thought you couldn't walk home with me because you had to be somewhere?"

"Ah, about that, it seems like I've been ditched. I guess I could walk with you part of the way then," I said flippantly.

She nodded, and said,

"Guess I'll be able to tell you just why I transferred here. Brace yourself; it's quite a long story."

I nodded, and for some reason, Tomoyo reddened a bit just now. Perhaps I was seeing things…

/

_Author's notes:_

_[1] – Asa Shigure is a character from __**Shuffle!**__. She always hits the male lead on the back as a way of greeting._

_[2] – This pertains to Sakuya Aizawa and Hayate Ayasaki from __**Hayate no Gotoku!/Hayate the Combat Butler**__._

_[3] – Seriously, do I even have to explain this? ^_^_

_[4] – A very minor and subtle reference to the spinoff gag series __**Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuuutsu**__. In one episode, Mikuru and Haruhi toy with the conundrum of Kyon and Koizumi becoming a yaoi pairing by way of their convoluted tournament rules. Mikuru realizes this and her brain literally shuts down._

_[5] – __**Azumanga Daioh**__: Osaka had a dream where she fantasized about Chiyo-chan's pigtails being detachable, and that they could let someone fly if they were attached to a person's head. Of course, this is Osaka we're talking about so…_

_[6] – Keiichi Maebara from __**Higurashi no Naku Koro ni**_ _gave Rika Furude the passion-inflated rousing speech at the end of Tsumihoroboshi-hen which gave her the willpower to break out of the endless June of 1983._

_[7] – A reference to the first episode of __**Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei**__. Fur seal is Rena's unusual euphemism for Keiichi's… umm… male assets._

_[8] – __**Operation Onii-chan**_ _is a lolicon manga, where the female lead is a nine year old girl who seduces her own _brother _to quell her uncontrollable sexual libido. At least, I think that's what it's about; I've never actually read it, and it seems kinda creepy anyway. I just threw this in there for the heck of it. :D_

_Okay, from the way things are going, I've decided to merge Fuko's and Tomoyo's arcs together into one. On an off-hand note, there will be no 3 on 3 pickup basketball here because in this story, Koumura was asked by the Drama Club first; therefore, no Choir Club will be there to contest the claim. No signs of Yukine yet; I'm still looking for a good time to insert her into the story. Misae is extremely questionable here, as Tomoya will be too busy attending to both Kotomi and the Drama Club to loaf around at Sunohara's dorm room, so Misae's and Tomoya's interactions here are severely limited. I have a plan to include Mei in the story, so I might throw in Misae for a scene or two as well, then have them both interact with Nagisa, just so I can make a gag about how these three are members of the Hinamizawa After School Game Club. Damn that __**Higurashi**__, it's pretty awesome, that's why I keep making excuses to reference it._

_That was one pretty long author's note, so I'll shut up now. Until next time everyone, and please review to let me know what you think, like if what I'm doing is utter crap or something. :D_


	5. A Goal in Mind

_Disclaimer: I don't own Clannad. Key Visual Arts does. I won't put this here anymore; it's pretty much a given after all._

_Don't be surprised if most of Tomoyo's backstory, and the conversation involved is pretty familiar. I'm just novelizing that portion of the anime._

_Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!_

_/_

**A Goal in Mind**

Tomoyo and I were barely out of the school grounds when she began to talk.

"First off, I'd like to ask you: What were you like as a child?" asked Tomoyo.

What I was like as a child, huh? Comparing the times now to the times back then, being a child was equivalent to being loved. Being a child automatically involved feeling the love and care of a parent. You might not believe me, but a long time ago, my father did love me as his own son. Despite his low income, he still went out of his way to spend money for me, buying me small toys, buying me delicious treats like cake, and supplies for school. However, the time came when he could no longer take it anymore. That was the beginning of the end of our relationship as father and son.

I didn't think that Tomoyo would want to hear something like that though; we barely even know each other. Quite frankly, I'm sure that the only reason she's talking to me is because I helped her ward off Sunohara for a few times now. It seems that I should accompany him every time he attempts more of his antics on Tomoyo, if I'm not able to convince him to stop.

Everything considered, I gave Tomoyo a very generic response.

"Well, I was never anything special. I was just your typical run of the mill boy. I'd go outside and play with my friends, occasionally get lost, and as a result my father would scold me for arriving home when it was already dark."

Funny, seeing as I met Kotomi by getting lost in her backyard. No regrets there…

"I see. While you were a, as you say, a nondescript young boy, I was an atypical specimen. I went wild in my younger days," said Tomoyo sourly.

She stopped walking down the slope and turned to me with a question.

" What do you think keeps people from going wild?"

I stopped in my tracks as well, rubbing my chin in thought.

"Perhaps their talent? If a person has a talent, then he has a goal in mind, a clear image of what they want to accomplish in their lives. With their effort focused on a goal, they'd probably be less prone to going wild," I replied sagely.

"Good answer, Okazaki," she replied with a smile on her face. She walked off the road onto the grass and sat down. She faced me and motioned for me to sit beside her on the grass.

I complied and marveled at how we could see most of the town from this vantage point. She broke the silence once again, continuing where she left off.

"What if one does not possess a talent?"

"Perhaps relationships? With a significant other or your family?" I asked tentatively.

Like I'm one to talk.

"I see; that is also quite the plausible answer," she replied in a neutral tone. She laid back down on the grass while I continued to marvel the view of the city that this place afforded to me.

"The solution I found was one of the things you said. Family," said Tomoyo. "When there's family, one could control oneself."

"That's not always the case!" I snapped. "Sometimes, family causes the opposite effect and induces wildness in someone instead." She flinched slightly, shocked, and I immediately felt guilty for lashing out at Tomoyo.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I just have stuff going on with my dad, is all," I mumbled.

She raised an eyebrow, shrugged and continued,

"The family I'm talking about doesn't need to be your nuclear or extended family. Friends can also be part of your family. What it really takes is a group which functions like a family. I know that other people may not agree with this, but based on my experiences, this is the answer that I arrived at."

She paused for a moment, presumably to recall memories of days long past, and sighed.

"My parents didn't get along well. The Sakagami household was devoid of conversation; even the air itself seemed to cool down and coalesce from lack of communication between the occupants. Not even arguments occurred, as neither side did anything to gain the other's ire. However, I believe that small misunderstandings and the hardships accumulated, and eventually, they could no longer see eye to eye in any way at all."

The sun began its graceful descent down the sky in the west; the orange orb illuminating the sakura[1] trees behind us as I sat and Tomoyo laid down on the grass.

"I had gone wild for a very long time. I took out my anger, frustration, and irritation on anyone I came across in the streets. It was exhilarating, beating the crap out of thugs to relieve myself of my stress. It came to me as a blessing that I was gifted with such an athletic and physically sound body. However, deep down inside, I was a weak person. There was one person who woke me up from the endless nightmare. That was my brother, Takafumi," said Tomoyo.

"So you have a brother. Is he older or younger than you?" I asked.

"Younger," she replied. "He was quiet and generally a nice person overall. However, I was a failure as an onee-san. Not once in those days did a smile grace his face, and whenever I would approach him he would instinctively cringe away from me, having heard of the rumors about his onee-san beating the crap out of street thugs."

"Anyone would be intimidated by such information, Tomoyo. Don't hold that against him," I quipped.

"I never really did hold that against him. From what I gathered, things between us were like that all because of me."

Tomoyo sat up in the grass and rested her elbows on her bent knees, while she took in the view of the city, as the last beams of the waning sun made their way towards us.

"Two years ago, my parents were going to get divorced. They fought over custodial issues, about financial issues, about who would move out and who would remain, the works. Divorce is a messy thing to get entangled with, and tempers were running high between them, higher than the usual because icy indifference could no longer cut it. They had to sit down and attempt to sort things out. Personally, at the time, I didn't give a damn how it ended. My brother however, didn't want things to end that way. He spoke up and said that he didn't want to go with _either_ parent. It was the first time he ever voiced his opinion that way. And then…"

Tomoyo's voice began to break, and I instinctively reached out a hand to rub her shoulder. She froze from the contact, looked up at me and nodded her thanks.

"And then, that same night, Takafumi ran out of the house in the middle of the argument. We found him shortly afterwards at the bridge near our home. His eyes were downcast, and he was staring off into space. I then knew how badly he was affected by this whole business, but what he said next startled us all."

Tomoyo paused, and I filled the sudden void in the conversation.

"I take that he was going to threaten to do something drastic, like run away?" I asked.

Tomoyo shook her head.

"Even worse. He said that he would jump off the damn bridge if my parents continued with the divorce!" exclaimed Tomoyo. Her loud voice caused a few birds to suddenly fly out of the bush nearest us.

"My parents thought he was bluffing, and they asked him to come back with us to the house so that the settlement issues could be discussed further. What happened next… I would never forget such a terrible thing for the rest of my life," she said in a more subdued voice.

"He really did it?" I asked.

"Yeah. With tears in his eyes, Takafumi circled across to the other side of the bridge and let himself fall into the water below. At the time, I had no clue why he would do such a thing. It's not as though he actually wanted to die. He himself probably did not understand the rationale behind such a suicidal act. However, he was successful if we're going by his desires. With his attempted suicide, we finally became a family," said Tomoyo.

She rubbed her eyes, and continued,

"At that time however, he was on the brink of death. We thought that all was lost, that my parents' pointless bickering and arguing had cost us the life of my brother. As luck would have it, he recovered by the next spring and was discharged from the hospital. We actually walked across a road somewhere near this hill," said Tomoyo.

"He said to me, as I pushed his wheelchair, 'I want to come and see these sakura trees every spring with everyone, as a family.'"

"All of us felt the same way: me and both of my parents," said Tomoyo quietly, as she stared at the city below in the twilight, the sun having set completely a few minutes ago.

"The city will continue to change, but many people remain who treasure the sakura trees. Not me alone, or my brother, but many people living in this city all feel that way. No matter how down things may seem, the most important places are unhampered by change."

She stopped and stood up, staring down at me. Her mood seemed to change completely, as she now had a fiery look in her eyes.

"And that is why I transferred to our school. I aim to become the next setokaicho[2]. When that happens, I will be in a better position to move for the preservation of the sakura trees. In doing so, I will honor my brother's only wish: that we could go see the sakura trees every spring as a family."

"I guess that's pretty honorable of you, fulfilling your brother's wish," I said. "He must have changed his view of you since then."

"That he did," said Tomoyo, who suddenly extended her hand to me. "Come, Okazaki. It's already nighttime, sorry for keeping you so long."

"No problem," I replied.

I obliged and she hoisted me into a standing position, after which we made our way down the hill. At the crossroads where I also saw off both Kotomi and Furukawa, I bade Tomoyo goodbye as she went in the same direction as Kotomi did last time. Something tells me that me and that girl are going to be very good friends.

/

"_Tomoya-kun, the juice is here!" called Obaa-san._

"_Coming!" I shouted in reply from the porch. "Hey, Kotomi-chan, your mom called and said that the juice is ready."_

_Kotomi was crouching low by the hedge, looking at a patch of it with great interest._

"_So this is the hydrangea bush mom planted a year ago… It's grown so big. Ah, you called Tomoya-kun?"_

"_Yes Kotomi, the juice is ready. Let's go take a break and stay inside for now, it's really hot out here."_

_And indeed, it was hot, because of the baggy shorts I was wearing. Kotomi was wearing a cream colored sundress that fit her perfectly. _She looked really cute wearing that. I'd sure like to marry someone as cute as her when I'm a big boy_._

_I felt my face heat up and I walked over and met Kotomi who was walking back towards the porch. I took her hand and we went inside the house to drink ice cold orange juice._

_After a while, we were done drinking and Kotomi suggested that we play house. We went upstairs to her room and I helped her carry the dollhouse she owned down the stairs. We set everything up and began to play house._

"_Tomoya-kun, I want to introduce a baby into the game. How do you make a baby anyway?" asked Kotomi._

"_I don't know. Let's just get the baby figurine and place it in the crib in the dollhouse."_

"_I'm talking about in real life too. I never asked my mom and dad, so I don't know."_

"_I think a bird called a stork drops them in your backyard after you've given them a call at the Baby Delivery Service," I said uncertainly. "I'm not sure though."_

"_Oh, that seems to be easy. When we're older, let's have a baby, Tomoya-kun. I'll be the mommy and you'll be the daddy," said Kotomi happily._

_I felt my face heat up, despite the fact that we were inside an airconditioned room and I replied,_

"_Sure, Kotomi-chan."_

_/_

Two weeks had passed since I learned of Tomoyo's plans in the school. It was Friday, and we were hanging around in the Drama Club's room during lunch time. Yesterday, I was unsurprised to see Sunohara barging into the Drama Club, asking Furukawa if he could join. As Furukawa nodded her approval, I could only internally sigh at his motivation for joining the club. There's no way in hell he's going to get free bread, except perhaps Sanae-san's, knowing that the old man Akio would happily oblige to such a request. I secretly wanted Sunohara to attempt to court Furukawa, so that I would be entertained by the disastrous results that followed.

I saw Tomoyo occasionally, but she only managed a greeting or two, because she was extremely busy with the Student Council elections. She promised that she'd spend more time with me once it was all over. Inexplicably, I felt my stomach twist every time she said that, and my mind always immediately turned to Kotomi.

Over the past week, we had discussed plans for our first club activity. Furukawa wanted to perform a play, the same play that she quoted on the night I visited her house. However, she couldn't remember most of it, so we decided to sit on it for a while and do some more research before we proceeded with our plan.

I gazed over at everybody from my spot here in the corner where I lay, slouched against the wall. Furukawa was eating anpan for lunch, which Kyou took offense to, saying that it's no good for someone as hardworking as Furukawa to be condemned to eat merely anpan during lunch time. Of course, being the modest girl that she was, Furukawa said it was alright, and that in fact she loved anpan, at which Kyou let the matter go.

Fujibayashi was chatting with Kotomi, and Sunohara was nowhere to be found. Probably still sleeping in the classroom or something.

I got up from my spot and moved over to the table and sat down beside Kotomi and Furukawa. In truth, I felt glad to be a part of this club. It gave some purpose to my school days now, whereas before I'd always reluctantly drag myself off to school. To my pleasure, Kotomi was seamlessly blending in with everyone else, and she seemed to have taken a liking to hanging out with Furukawa and Fujibayashi.

"Say Tomoya, ever wondered what you'd like to do after we graduate?" asked Kyou.

Everyone turned to her and Furukawa continued this line of questioning.

"Yes Okazaki-san, I'm curious: what do you plan to do when you graduate?"

"With my bad grades and all, the only way to go would be to get a job. That is of course, assuming I would graduate with you all," I said bluntly.

"Tomoya, I am going to kick your ass if you don't graduate," said Kyou dangerously. "So do your best."

"Let's all work hard together!" quipped Furukawa.

"Besides, Okazaki-kun, you could always ask Kotomi-chan to tutor you," said Fujibayashi.

I looked towards Kotomi, who smiled.

"I'd be more than happy to help you Tomoya-kun," said Kotomi.

I smiled at her and replied,

"I look forward to it. Please treat me well Kotomi."

I clearly saw Kyou raise an eyebrow at that statement of mine. She looked at me with a knowing look in her eye and I instinctively gulped.

"Say Tomoya, what _is_ your relationship with Kotomi anyway? Nagisa here told me that you befriended her and promised to help her reestablish the Drama Club, at which you were successful. However, when I asked Kotomi here what brought her to the Drama Club, she only said that it was because of you. So why, Tomoya, why?" asked Kyou.

I looked at Kotomi and she became flustered when she met my gaze. I smiled at her, and she recovered, then nodded. No point hiding it now I guess, if even Sunohara knows.

"Kotomi and I have been friends for a long time now," I said carefully.

"So how come you never introduced her to me and Ryou before huh, Tomoya?" asked Kyou testily.

"Because I didn't even know she was studying here? If Sunohara says that Kotomi is as famous in this school as she is, I'm surprised that you didn't know how smart she was. I'd merely assumed that she had taken her studies abroad in America," I replied, again looking at Kotomi beside me.

She blushed and said softly, "Thank you Tomoya-kun."

"Tomoya, something is wrong with your logic. I do know about Kotomi, but what puzzles me is that if she was your friend, and that she was quite famous here, you never ever mentioned, even in passing that she was your friend."

"Kotomi was merely famous because of her academic prowess. The only way for me to find out would be to inspect standardized exam results on the bulletin board, which, as you know, I have never done even once since setting foot in this high school," I replied deliberately. "To add to things, Kotomi, prior to joining the Drama Club, was always in the library reading books on advanced particle physics and other complicated things, so she never really was one to mingle, isn't that right Kotomi?"

She looked shy, but she eventually spoke.

"That's true, T-Tomoya-kun, but thanks to you, I now have wonderful friends here in Nagisa-chan, Ryou-chan and Kyou-chan. And you, of course," she said happily.

Kyou still looked pretty suspicious, but she thankfully dropped the matter. The bell suddenly rang, and everyone packed up. Both Kyou and Fujibayashi went ahead because they had to claim attendance sheets from the teacher in charge in the staff room, leaving me with both Furukawa and Kotomi. The three of us then made our way to our respective classrooms, promising to meet-up after school ended to consult with Koumura further on our next big activity.

/

Class had proceeded that afternoon without anything eventful happening, and Sunohara was nowhere to be found. I left the classroom and told Fujibayashi that I would be meeting up with Furukawa and Kotomi.

"I'm sorry Okazaki-kun, but Onee-chan and I have some iinchou business to take care of this afternoon."

Minutes later, I was in the clubroom with Kotomi. Furukawa apparently was on cleaning duty and wouldn't arrive for another half-hour. She had told us to go ahead and consult with Koumura ourselves, and she would follow. I hadn't been to her house in a while; perhaps I could bring Kotomi over there? I'm sure Furukawa would be more than happy to oblige.

The two of us were just seated on the floor, leaning against the room's wall. We were just killing time; apparently, neither of us was well versed on what exactly we were supposed to consult about, so we decided to forego consulting Koumura until Furukawa was actually with us.

"Tomoya-kun."

"What is it, Kotomi?"

"I'm glad."

"About what?"

"I'm glad that we found each other again. I'm also happy that I've made friends with the others. School life isn't as uneventful as it used to be," said Kotomi.

"Well that's good, isn't it?" I said with a smile on my face.

To my surprise, Kotomi laid her head on my shoulder. I stiffened momentarily but I relaxed almost instantly. _Don't think this means anything; she's just happy, is all._

"Tomoya-kun, can we stay like this right now?" said Kotomi softly.

"Sure," I said.

She kept her head there and soon enough, Kotomi fell asleep. I gazed at her with a small smile on my face. _Maybe we could be more than just friends, but let's not be too hasty here._ I continued to observe Kotomi, her chest rising and falling softly as she breathed. _They're huge… Wait, what the hell am I thinking!_

I involuntarily jerked but thankfully, Kotomi didn't wake up.

"Strange person is thinking of perverted thoughts!" said a familiar voice.

I looked towards the door and sure enough, there stood Fuko with a starfish sculpture in her hand. She also carried a shoulder bag, from which I could hear the _clunk clunk_ sound of more wooden starfish sculptures.

"Like hell I was! And my name's Okazaki, dammit!" I exclaimed. Kotomi then stirred on my shoulder and rubbed her eyes.

"Eh? Tomoya-kun? Who's that?" mumbled Kotomi sleepily.

"Her name's Fuko. She's giving out starfishes to people and she's forcing people to attend her sister's wedding in exchange," I said bluntly.

"That's not how it is, Okazaki-san! The people will be moved by the cuteness of my starfishes and they'll attend my sister's wedding of their own accord," exclaimed Fuko with conviction.

"Really? Can I see those starfishes?" asked Kotomi.

"Huwaah! That's Genius girl! I sometimes see her in the library. Okazaki-san, is she your girlfriend?" asked Fuko, entering the room as she spoke.

"Eh? N-no, that's not how it is, dammit!" I exclaimed. "Isn't that right Kotomi?"

She looked at me, the blood rising up to her face. However, I saw that her face had a small frown on it.

"I, uh, yes, we're not dating or anything," said Kotomi in a small voice.

_Does she want to?_

"A-anyway, how's the inviting coming along, eh Fuko?" I asked, desperately trying to change the topic.

At my words, Fuko's million-watt excitement seemed to drain away in an instant, and her shoulders sagged.

"People aren't really paying much attention to me lately. All I want is to help my sister have a nice wedding," said Fuko.

"And who is your sister?" asked a voice.

I looked at the source of the voice and I looked at the doorway. It was Furukawa.

"She said she was a teacher here four years ago. Hey wait a second, you might know who she is, Furukawa. Say Fuko, what's your sister's name?" I asked.

"Ibuki. Kouko Ibuki," said Fuko.

At this, Furukawa audibly gasped.

"E-eh? Ibuki-sensei? She was my homeroom teacher during my first year and… oh _shit_."

I swear that may be the one and only time I'd hear Furukawa speak like that.

"Are you Fuko-chan?" asked Furukawa tentatively.

"Yes, Fuko is Fuko. Who else could Fuko be?" asked Fuko with an eyebrow raised.

To compound everything else, Furukawa paled and she sagged against the doorway's frame. Kotomi immediately rushed towards Furukawa.

"Nagisa-chan, Nagisa-chan, are you alright?" asked Kotomi, her earlier sadness replaced with a look of concern.

"I'm fine, Kotomi-chan. It's just that…" she stopped.

"Just that what?" I asked, moving towards Furukawa as well.

"Ibuki-sensei's younger sister Fuko… should be in the hospital right now," said Furukawa in a small voice.

"And why should that be so?" I asked.

"Because Fuko is in a coma right now," stated Furukawa.

/

"Say what? Furukawa, are you sure of what you're saying?" I asked.

"Yes. Four years ago, after the opening ceremony of my first year, there was an accident outside the school's gates. The girl was taken to the hospital, and the next day, my homeroom teacher, Ibuki-sensei, told us about her sister being in the hospital in a coma. She asked for us to pray for her, and she pledged that her sister's injury wouldn't affect her teaching for one more year, as she said that that would be her last year to teach in our school. True enough, the year after, she retired, saying that she would take care of Fuko."

I scratched my head and said,

"Okay Fuko, who or what exactly are you?"

"Fuko is not quite sure, but she knows that she cannot go home until she helps her sister's wedding become a guaranteed success," said Fuko.

"Tomoya-kun, she isn't a ghost or anything, right?" asked Kotomi.

"I don't think she is. Fuko, are you a ghost?" I asked.

"If there's one thing I'm sure of, I'm not a ghost," said Fuko with conviction. "Fuko isn't really sure of what she is, but if there's anything really close, it would be that Ayu-chan[3] character from a fairly recent anime."

I sort of knew what she was talking about, so I nodded. Kotomi looked at me with a puzzled face. I placed my hand on her shoulder and said,

"So, if I'm right in what I'm thinking, I think it's in our best interest to help Fuko over here out."

"I, uh, agree with you, Okazaki-san. Somehow, I feel that it's the right thing to do," said Furukawa.

"I'll help too," said Kotomi.

"Well, it's settled. We're going to help you," said Furukawa. "By the way, what does your sister call you?"

"Fu-chan," she said quietly.

"Can I call you that?" asked Furukawa.

"Me too," said Kotomi.

"Umm, okay. But, only if you take these!" exclaimed Fuko excitedly.

She took out another starfish from her bag, and handed two starfishes to both Furukawa and Kotomi.

"I think we should start helping Fuko by accompanying her when she distributes sculptures to people in the school. Then we could help her carve more starfishes if she teaches us how to. I'll have to tell Koumura-sensei that we're pushing back our play until the next school festival, so we'll be performing on the same day as other clubs. We should also inform Kyou-san and Ryou-san tomorrow that we'll have a change of schedule. After all, it is for a friend," said Furukawa.

"For a… friend?" asked Fuko tentatively.

"Of course Fu-chan. I'm your friend," said Furukawa.

"Can I be your friend too, Fu-chan?" asked Kotomi.

"I guess I could be your friend, as long as you stop calling me a strange person," I said.

Fuko stepped near me with a serious look on her face, and said,

"Of course… Strange person."

She stuck her tongue out at me, but before I could do anything, Kotomi moved lightning fast, swatting Fuko on the head with a newspaper she got from one of the supply boxes in the room.

"What the hell! What the hell!" exclaimed Kotomi, while swatting Fuko with the newspaper.

"Nice _tsukkomi_ Kotomi," I said.

Furukawa was chuckling at Fuko trying to ward off the newspaper slaps with a starfish, and a smile couldn't help but form on my face.

I knew we were all going to get along just fine.

/

_Author's Notes:_

_[1] – Sakura are cherry blossoms, trees which are commonplace in Japan especially during the season of spring. As Clannad is Key's spring work (with Air being summer and Kanon being winter), the series is rife with motifs referring to said trees._

_[2] – Setokaicho = Student Council President (I did get the spelling right, didn't I?)_

_[3] – Fuko is referring to Ayu Tsukimiya from __**Kanon**__, one of Key's earlier visual novels. As you may know, Fuko's nature is pretty much similar to Ayu's._

_And so the hybrid Fuko-Tomoyo arc continues. Since I swapped the arcs around when compared to the anime, I'm moving up the Student Council election so that it'll work. Hence, the 2 week time skip, so that things would be workable. Timewise, this'll put the Student Council election about a week after Fuko's wedding, so in this alternate universe, Tomoya will be multitasking by helping both Fuko and Tomoyo._

_By the way, I'm not having anyone beta-reading this or any of my other fanfics, so please excuse any typographical errors I may have._

_More KoTomoya fluff in future chapters. Read and review please. :)_


	6. Helping Hands

_So, without further ado, here is the continuation of the blossoming relationship between Tomoya and Kotomi._

_/_

**Helping Hands**

Three weeks had passed since Kotomi, Furukawa, and I took it upon ourselves to assist Fuko with the invitation of students to her older sister Kouko's wedding, which was going to happen next week. During the first week though, all we did was to accompany Fuko in our free time while she wandered the school's hallways, messenger bag in tow, distributing her starfish carvings to random passerby, not caring whether or not she knew them.

She would simply approach the person and say, as she handed the starfish carving towards them,

"_Excuse me, but please take this."_

When the person would predictably have a look of wonder or surprise on their face, she would then follow that up with,

"_It's a present for you, so please attend my sister's wedding that will take place soon._"

Over the next week, the three of us decided to take it upon ourselves to actually help with the carving and distribution of the starfish carvings. At the end of the third week, while Furukawa and Kotomi were wandering around the freshmen corridor, Fuko and I were wandering around the junior corridor, distributing starfishes to no one in particular when a familiar friendly voice called out to me.

"Hey, Okazaki, it's been a while," called Tomoyo.

I turned and saw Tomoyo, who was enthusiastically waving her arms at me. I glanced at Fuko and prodded her.

"Hey Fuko, why don't you give Tomoyo over there a present?" I whispered.

She nodded, and timidly approached Tomoyo while I continued to look on with thinly veiled interest. Tomoyo's gaze turned towards the small girl who was approaching her slowly. She threw a questioning look at me, and I just nodded while she remained confused as to what was transpiring in front of her.

"Umm, excuse me, but please accept this!" said Fuko, extending a carving towards Tomoyo.

Tomoyo took the starfish sculpture from Fuko, and examined it briefly before asking,

"What is this for?"

"It's an invitation for my sister's wedding. Please, if it isn't too much trouble, come over and join me and my sister in celebrating her wedding," said Fuko.

Tomoyo was mildly confused, and I gestured over to Fuko and said,

"Hey, meet up with Kotomi and Furukawa over at the freshman wing. I'll talk to Tomoyo for a bit, so go ahead."

"Jeez, Okazaki-san is cheating on Kotomi-chan!" pouted Fuko.

I felt the heat rise in my face.

"Idiot! That's not how it is! Just go and meet up with them already, dammit."

She stuck her tongue out at me and she left, leaving Tomoyo and I in the hall that was starting to be filled with the hustle and bustle of juniors making their way to the cafeteria for lunch.

"So Tomoyo, how's the preparations for the Student Council elections coming along?" I asked conversationally.

"Going quite well, actually. The elections are in three weeks, and campaigning started two weeks ago. I'm planning to invite the other candidates for a debate next week or so. For now, it'll just be distribution of flyers I guess. To be honest, I hadn't really thought of how exactly I'd go by the campaigning and all," replied Tomoyo.

"I see. I wish I could help you right now, but my hands are tied for the next week. You see, like she said, that girl who gave you a sculpture is trying to get as many people as possible to attend her sister's wedding."

"Why would she do that?" inquired Tomoyo.

"She wanted her sister to be appreciated by the students of this school. It's probably because of the fact that her sister used to teach art here four years ago, of which a glaring consequence is that practically nobody in the school knew who she was."

"I see. If it's one of your friends, I don't mind attending. Who is the teacher anyway?" asked Tomoyo.

"Her name is Ibuki. Kouko Ibuki. The one who gave you that starfish you're holding right now is her younger sister, Fuko Ibuki. The wedding's next Sunday, here in the school."

"Ibuki… Ibuki… That name is vaguely familiar… I heard Misae-san mention that name once or twice."

"Misae-san? How do you know Misae-san?" I asked, surprised that Tomoyo knew Misae-san, the dorm mother of the dormitory where Sunohara stayed.

"I come to her for advice on how to get myself elected, and for what I can do if I get elected. After all, she was the first female Student Council President of the school, so I'm sure the advice she has to offer is priceless."

I nodded. Speaking of Sunohara…

"Hey Tomoyo, about Sunohara, has he eased up on you lately?"

I hadn't been able to monitor Sunohara over the past few weeks, firstly due to helping Furukawa reestablish the Drama Club, and now this. Her brow creased with the question, but she answered my inquiry.

"Surprisingly, that incident with the _Shuffle_ game was the last one he pulled on me. Although I once passed by the men's washroom and I heard his voice saying my name over and over," said Tomoyo.

"And then?" I prompted.

"Three days later, he confessed to me," said Tomoyo bluntly.

"I see. He– WHAT!" I yelped.

She nodded balefully and continued,

"Yes. He said that he was blinded all along by jealousy over my physical prowess and that he grew to respect me, not just as an equal, but as a potential lover. Needless to say, I declined."

Sunohara had been on the back of my mind for the past weeks. No wonder the guy didn't bug me lately; he was too busy daydreaming about Tomoyo. That also explained the blank look he had on his face when he wasn't asleep in class.

"Well, I um, am genuinely shocked by this turn of events," I managed. "So, how did you reject him?"

At this inquiry, Tomoyo's face turned red and she averted my gaze.

"I told him that I already liked someone else," she said quietly.

I raised an eyebrow at her reaction to my question. It couldn't be… Could it? I decided to break the awkward silence.

"Anyway, yeah, Tomoyo, I'll be going now. Gotta help my friend out with her sister's wedding. Please come if it isn't too much trouble," I said.

"Ah yes, nice seeing you again Okazaki," said Tomoyo. "By the way, what was that girl's name just now again? I kinda forgot," she said sheepishly.

"Fuko. Fuko Ibuki," I answered.

"Duly noted. See you around."

Tomoyo left after that. My mind turned instinctively to Kotomi.

_This'll be troublesome._

_/_

The four of us met up in the Drama clubroom at around four in the afternoon, discussing the progress we had for the past week. It was getting comfortable, spending time here with just the four of us, even if both Kyou and Fujibayashi were absent. Furukawa had given them time off, saying that Drama Club activities were suspended until further notice. The two of them inquired why, and Furukawa merely said that she was prioritizing a friend's needs over her wants, at which Kyou gave her a severe dressing down. Nevertheless, Furukawa stayed strong and said that it was of utmost urgency, at which Kyou relented.

"So, Furukawa, Fuko, how did things go after lunch?" I asked. Earlier that afternoon, Fuko switched places with Kotomi, so she went with Furukawa while Kotomi went with me.

Across me were both Furukawa and Fuko, with Kotomi sitting beside me on the floor.

"Well, I noticed that less and less people are giving Fuko attention now," said Furukawa. "I have a guess as to why this could be, and I sincerely apologize for keeping this from everybody until now."

She bowed, and she cleared her throat.

"Last Saturday was Founder's Day, right?"

Both Kotomi and I nodded; both of us were not around on that day though.

"I met up with Ibuki-sensei that day, because I invited her over to join me. She then told me that Fu-chan's condition had worsened."

She glanced over at Fuko, who looked at her with a blank look on her face.

"Worsened, meaning?" asked Kotomi.

"She said that Fu-chan's vital signs, which were once stable, were suddenly becoming dangerously abnormal. In fact, she said that she was on dialysis at the moment, because one of her kidneys failed," said Furukawa in a somber tone.

Kotomi audibly gasped, and I knew that this was a very grave situation to be in.

"So I asked the next logical thing, based on our actions for the past few weeks. I asked her if Fu-chan got visitors, and she said that yes, the visitor count dramatically increased."

"How does this affect people not noticing Fuko?" I asked, confused by this turn of events.

To my surprise, it was Kotomi who answered.

"I did some research on the possibilities behind Fu-chan's nature, and I concluded that Fu-chan, this Fu-chan that is with us now, is an astral projection."

"An astral projection?" I asked.

"An astral projection is when a person, usually near-death, projects their soul outwards from their body. This phenomenon is attributed to people having ESP, or people who are more attuned to the hitherto latent psychic abilities of the human hypothalamus," said Kotomi breathlessly.

I turned a blank stare towards her, while Furukawa chuckled nervously.

"Kotomi, in Japanese please," I said patiently to the person seated beside me.

"Umm, in simpler terms, the Fu-chan we are spending time with is akin to a physical manifestation of her soul, which set out to do the things she desired to but was never able to do."

I turned to Fuko and asked,

"Fuko, tell me, what was the one thing you wanted to do before you had that accident?"

Fuko stood up, and walked over to the window. She looked at the golden sun that was hanging peacefully in the sky, and she turned towards us with a mournful look on her face.

"I only ever wanted to live up to my sister's expectations. Back before I was supposed to enter high school, I had trouble making friends. My sister wanted me to try to make more friends, but since I was so bad at that, I decided to cling to her instead. I remember a summer that passed with my sister avoiding me, so that I would be forced to make friends with others. I never told her that I knew exactly what she was planning, but since I wanted to please her, I tried my best. I was always alone, except for my sister. That's why I love her so much. I still remember what she told me on the day of the opening ceremony."

"_Fu-chan, please do your best to make friends, alright? The people here are also like you, looking for friends, so I'm sure you'll have better luck this time._"

"However, I never got the chance. I was hit by a car on my way home that day. Since then, when this form of mine was established, I was helpless, seeing my sister waste so many hours in the hospital, caring for her comatose younger sister who failed her only wish. I was disgusted with myself, that I wasn't able to live up to my sister's expectations. She got a boyfriend two years ago, a person named Yusuke Yoshino. I felt that the fact that I was still in a coma was the only reason she couldn't enjoy herself. Some time ago, I heard her discussing marriage with Yoshino-san. I knew that my sister loved him very much, but when I heard her tell him why she felt guilty about getting married… I never thought I'd be disgusted with myself for being such a failure, but there it was."

"_Yu-kun, I feel guilty about getting married. It's because Fu-chan still isn't well. I want her to be happy with us too, when we get married. I think it's unfair otherwise if I'm happy and she's not._"

"_I understand how you feel, and I'll patiently wait for the day when Fu-chan wakes up. Then we can get married," said Yoshino._

"That was why I let myself appear in this school in the first place, and that was why I told Nagisa-san to convince my sister to get married," said Fuko.

"That's right. Fuko asked me before I met up with her sister to convince her to proceed with the wedding as soon as possible. I used the 'Fu-chan would be happy for her' argument and it worked. She said that if that's what Fu-chan wanted, she'd get married as soon as possible. That was how it came to be that Ibuki-sensei's wedding would take place Sunday next week here in school. I spoke to Koumura-sensei if he could reserve the school for us, and apparently, he was able to secure the administration's permission for such an event," replied Furukawa.

"Okay. I still don't see how this relates to people not minding Fuko lately," I responded.

"The Fu-chan existing here, and the Fu-chan existing in the hospital, comatose, is a fundamental paradox. Logically, it isn't possible for the same person to exist in two different places at the same time. That is why, when the people we gave the carvings to found out about Fu-chan's condition, some of them would then visit Fu-chan in the hospital. Their minds would then recall Fu-chan, meaning the Fu-chan who is here with us right now to be the one giving them the carvings. However, that is contradicted by the fact that Fu-chan is also in the hospital and in a coma. Therefore, their mind adjusts to that contradiction, and due to Fu-chan's nature as an astral projection, she becomes invisible to them," said Kotomi.

"Some of them even forgot why they had the carvings in the first place," said Furukawa. "It was so sad I nearly cried, and Kotomi-chan had to console me."

"A side effect of that contradiction would be their minds wiping their memories of anything ever associated with Fu-chan here. It's like nature's own way of responding to a fundamental paradox," said Kotomi. "It's really sad, isn't it, Tomoya-kun?"

I nodded and said softly,

"That is why we must never visit Fuko in the hospital. If we do, even we, the only people who are helping her, might forget about her."

Tears began to form in my eyes, the full weight of the situation pressing itself on my shoulders in a way that even Atlas himself couldn't understand.

"I swear, I will never forget you Fuko," I declared, my voice breaking.

"Me too!" said Furukawa.

"Me too!" said Kotomi.

"Everyone... Nagisa-san, Kotomi-chan, Okazaki-san… Thank you," said Fuko warmly.

She walked towards us and gave us all hugs. We then jostled closer to each other and a group hug was done.

/

Furukawa and Fuko were on their way to the Bakery; Sanae-san and the old man had apparently consented to taking Fuko in temporarily, though how Furukawa managed to hide Fuko's identity from her parents was a mystery to me. Kotomi and I were strolling through the shopping district; both of us didn't want to go home yet. That was normal for me, but for her it was probably a new feeling, something awakened due to the seriousness of things hitting us all full force.

We passed by a musical instrument shop, and Kotomi stopped walking.

"Tomoya-kun, can we go in here? I just want to take a look at something," she said.

I nodded, and followed her into the shop. However, she was too quick for me, and I lost her in the shop which was much bigger than it looked from the outside. I found myself browsing the merchandise as well, with my eyes lingering on Fender guitars due to an anime about a light music club I had seen recently[1].

I found Kotomi after a while eyeing the violins in the shop's back room with interest. I remembered that she loved playing the violin when she was much younger, and I looked forward to hearing her play in the near future.

I looked at the clock on the shop's wall and saw that it was already eight in the evening. I motioned over to where Kotomi was and I saw that she was too preoccupied with the violins to notice me. I whispered into her ear,

"Let's go Kotomi."

She jumped backwards, surprised, and she bumped a stack of violin cases that were placed precariously above her head. I sensed the danger and grabbed Kotomi, pulling her out of the way before the stack of violin cases landed on her, but I failed to notice the protruding neck of a guitar near the ground, and I magnificently tripped over it. I flipped Kotomi over so that I would receive the brunt of the impact on the floor.

However, this noble move I did put me in a very compromising situation at the moment. If anyone walked in on us right now, well, that wouldn't be good, would it? Kotomi was splayed on top of me, her knee was dangerously adjacent to my groin, and her chest was plopped directly on top of my face.

I had to admit, this felt good, but my conscience told me to get the hell out of this situation before she felt flustered. Kotomi's eyes opened, and she groggily managed,

"Tomoya-kun? Are you okay?"

"Err, Kotomi, could you get off me? Your umm, chest is in my face," I replied, my voice muffled by her breasts.

To my surprise, she wasn't perturbed by the situation she was in, though I saw that she was blushing. She calmly got off me, and she extended her hand to help me up. I took it, and she assisted me in standing up. I was about to let go of her when I felt her hand grip mine as if she didn't want to let go. I looked at her, my face reddening, and I saw her red face as well.

"Tomoya-kun, can we stay like this until we part for tonight?" asked Kotomi timidly.

"Sure, why not?" I managed with a smile on my face.

Little did she know that my heart was throbbing very loudly, and little did _I_ know that our worst fears would be all but confirmed that coming Monday.

/

"Hey Tomoyo!" I called to the girl walking towards the cafeteria. Kotomi and Furukawa were already eating in the Drama clubroom with Kyou, Fuko, and Fujibayashi, while I had excused myself to get a drink in the cafeteria.

"Oh. Yo there, Okazaki. Say, umm, I'd like to have lunch with you now. Is that fine?" asked Tomoyo, her faced laced with red.

"Ah, sorry, I can't; I'm going to go back to the Drama clubroom and then I'll help out Fuko with more distribution after lunch."

Her reply nearly made my heart stop beating.

"Help out who?" she asked, puzzled.

"Who? I mean Fuko, the girl who gave you a wooden starfish sculpture last Friday," I said, dreading where this was going.

"Really? I was wondering how I'd gotten this," said Tomoyo, taking the starfish out of her bag as she said so.

"You… Honestly don't remember?" I asked.

"I don't recall meeting a girl and being given this carving by anybody. Why else would I be wondering where I got it?" said Tomoyo crisply.

"Ah, that's how it is then," I said. "Sorry Tomoyo, I gotta go, see you around!"

I turned and dashed back to the clubroom, not waiting for her reply.

/

_Author's notes:_

_[1] – This is a reference to the anime __**K-On!**_

_So okay, next chapter will be Kouko's wedding, and the Student Council election will be either after that in the same chapter, or in the succeeding chapter. I expect this arc to conclude within at most two more chapters. I hope you guys liked the KoTomoya fluff I put here. Also, I'll try to update every other day or every three days, since I'm on break. See you guys next chapter!_


	7. Memories Off

_This ends Fuko's arc. Also, if anyone was wondering why Fuko stopped referring to herself in the third person last chapter, it's because it kinda represents how much she wanted to change herself to live up to Kouko's wishes for her. That, and because I forgot. :)_

_/_

**Memories Off **[1]

I dashed as fast as I could back to the Drama clubroom; the sense of urgency causing the adrenaline to pump faster and faster through my body. Hearing it from Furukawa was one thing, hearing it myself was completely different. It looked like Tomoyo wasn't lying either, nor would she have any reason to, nor would she have anything to gain from lying. No; I knew that Tomoyo was being honest when she said that she could not recall who Fuko was.

On the way back, I passed by the staff room and a stroke of inspiration hit me, causing me to detour and enter the room. As soon as I entered, I immediately drew the stares of the teachers; I had been here often in the past, for mostly unpleasant reasons. However, I mustered up the courage to speak and I asked no one in particular,

"Excuse me, is Koumura here?"

"He's in the teacher's lounge," answered the secretary, since none of the teachers wanted to answer. "What business do you have with him?"

"I need to discuss the upcoming wedding of Kouko Ibuki that would be held here. I believe the Drama Club secured the school's permission to have it held here, with the assistance of Koumura."

Most of the teachers were staring at me in blank shock; surprised that Tomoya Okazaki would be running around, doing things to help other people. Hey, I may not look it, but I can care too.

The secretary smiled warmly at me and said, "Go ahead and see him; he's just taking his coffee break."

I nodded my thanks and passed by her, proceeding towards the teacher's lounge within the staff room. True enough, there sat Koumura in the couch, quietly sipping at his cup of coffee in serene silence.

"Hey Koumura," I said, breaking the silence.

He turned toward me with a look of mild surprise on his face. He was unfazed by my brash manner; I had always dealt with him in that manner and he didn't really care. Perhaps that was one reason I took more kindly to him than to other teachers who cared about trivial manners such as niceties and polite speech.

"Oh, it's Okazaki-kun. How can I help you?"

I gulped, the tension I was feeling was too great. If I got the answer I was dreading, then all would be lost. Without any further hesitation, I asked him,

"Do you recall why we're booking the school on Sunday, as well as the event that is going to happen?"

His brow creased in thought, and then he answered,

"It's for the wedding of our former art teacher Kouko Ibuki to her boyfriend Yusuke Yoshino. Why are you asking, Okazaki-kun? Wasn't it your and Furukawa-san's idea to have the wedding here to begin with?"

"I uh, yes it was. I was just making sure of things," I said. "That's all I needed to know. Thank you."

I left the staff room and made my way back to the Drama clubroom. At least Koumura still knew why we were having the wedding. Panting, I finally found myself in front of the Drama clubroom. I opened the door without any hesitation.

"Hey Furukawa, we have a problem. Tomoyo for—"

I stopped dead in my tracks. Before my eyes was a sight I did not expect: Furukawa was hysterically crying into Kotomi's shoulders, while Fuko was standing a few feet away, staring silently at the two. Kyou and Fujibayashi were nowhere to be found. I quickly entered the classroom.

"Kotomi, what's going on here? Where are Kyou and Fujibayashi? Why is Furukawa crying?" I asked tersely.

"Umm, Tomoya-kun…," began Kotomi.

Suddenly, Furukawa surfaced from Kotomi's shoulder, which was now dripping in tears.

"Okazaki-san, this is really bad," she said amidst sobs. "Kyou-chan and Ryou-chan don't remember who Fu-chan is anymore. They can't even _see_ her."

I felt my heartbeat slow down by half at this.

"Seriously? How did it go Kotomi?"

"Well Tomoya-kun, after you left, we began to eat lunch. Nagisa-chan was talking to Fu-chan and then Kyou-chan suddenly said, '_Hey Nagisa, who are you talking to? Are you talking to Kotomi?_'"

Kotomi coughed, and then continued in a sad voice.

"So Nagisa-chan told them, '_Fu-chan, of course! Fuko! Who else?_' and then Ryou-chan said, '_Umm, we don't know anyone else of that name, Nagisa-san_. _The only one we know is lying in a coma in the hospital in the nearby town._'"

" It's just like I thought. I asked them if they visited Fu-chan over the weekend and they said they did. Nagisa-chan began to cry and the two of them left quickly, seeing Nagisa-chan so upset. What can we do, Tomoya-kun?" pleaded Kotomi.

I turned to the subject of all of this.

"What can we do, Fuko?"

She shook her head sadly and replied in a voice unlike her normal self,

"I don't know Okazaki-san. I just want my sister to be happy."

I closed my fist in frustration, the fingernails digging into my palm.

"It's no good if we let ourselves get discouraged by these setbacks. We just have to redouble our efforts in distributing carvings and in inviting people. Perhaps we could make a poster advertising the wedding. Maybe Koumura could do that. We can't fail. Not if we're doing this for Fuko's sake," I said, desperation creeping into my voice.

Furukawa's crying stopped, and she broke away from Kotomi, whom she mouthed an apology to.

"I guess you're right, Okazaki-san. We can't get discouraged easily just because of these setbacks, right? We should continue to do our best, like we always have. Because it's for Fu-chan… That's why we can't fail," said Furukawa, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Kotomi and I nodded, and Fuko was still uncharacteristically silent. I looked directly into Fuko's eyes and said,

"Don't worry. We'll continue to work hard to help you."

/

And that we did. For the entire week, we continued to do our best in giving out the carvings, ignoring the fact that people were accepting them and noticing Fuko less and less as the days went by.

Today was Saturday, and the wedding was tomorrow. We were far from our intended objective of 700 people, if we consider the people who had forgotten about Fuko, but ignoring this, we plodded along relentlessly, refusing to give in to the twisted machinations of fate.

The final bell rang, signaling lunch and the end of the day, and without further ado, I got up and made my way towards to Drama clubroom, ready to continue our work in distributing carvings, when Sunohara called out to me.

"Oi Okazaki, help me out with Tomoyo today! Didn't you say the other day you would?"

I ignored him and continued to walk out of the classroom.

"Oi, Okazaki!"

I quickly made my way to the clubroom, not wanting to waste any more time than I had to. When I got there, I saw that the mood in the air was heavy; Fuko, who had reverted to her cheerful self within the week, was quietly packing starfish carvings into the messenger bag she always carried around with her. Furukawa and Kotomi were also silent, and I felt the need to break the silence that seemed to be solid enough for me to touch.

"Hey, what's with this mood? Did someone die?" I said jokingly, trying to cheer them up.

The answer I received was not pleasant.

"Mom and Dad have also forgotten who Fu-chan is. Dad completely forgot, but Mom only forgot partially, because Ibuki-sensei was a regular visitor to our shop, and that Mom grew fond of Fu-chan during the time she stayed at our house. It happened this morning, when Mom saw us off."

"_Nagisa, Fu-chan, have a nice day at school!" said Mom cheerfully. "The two of you, don't overwork yourself too much, alright? I know that the wedding's tomorrow but take it easy."_

_Mom walked closer to me and kissed me on the cheek._

"_Go do your best Nagisa."_

_She then faced a spot that was to my right and she crouched down and said,_

"_You too Fu-chan. I'm sure your sister won't be happy to see you tired. You must've been working hard for her sake. I'm sure lots of people will come to her wedding."_

_She suddenly began to pat thin air, while Fu-chan and I looked on. Then it horribly hit me a second too late, because Mom suddenly started to cry._

"_Nagisa… I can't see her. Fu-chan, where are you!" wailed Mom in a voice full of sadness. "I knew something was up when you told me her name was Fuko Izumi[2], but I merely thought you were covering up for her. Late last night, I visited Kouko's sister in the hospital, and she looked exactly like Fu-chan. I can't see her anymore!"_

"_Okaa-san_… _You've done enough. She's very thankful that you and Dad have been supporting us for the entire time. Fu-chan is really happy," I said, trying to console my mother._

_Beside me, Fu-chan nodded, and with a heavy heart, we made our way towards school._

"I see, that's what happened. I guess since the wedding's tomorrow afternoon, let's try our best to invite more people who're loitering around the school this afternoon. Let's go, Kotomi. Fuko, go with Furukawa," I directed.

However, no such luck was going our way. We were only able to invite two people that afternoon, and both of them were students that we hadn't encountered until today, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

/

Kotomi, Fuko, and I were accompanying Furukawa, who was doing her shopping for her family's dinner when suddenly, Kotomi had an idea.

"Hey, Nagisa-chan, why don't we have a celebratory party for Fu-chan? So that we can celebrate the fact that her sister will finally get married tomorrow afternoon," suggested Kotomi.

"I don't see why not," I said. "It's better than feeling sad about the people forgetting. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll all show up tomorrow afternoon."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Furukawa.

We then made our way to the party novelty store after Furukawa had finished shopping for her dinner that night. I noticed that Fuko was staring at a green-and-red striped party hat that was displayed by the window with great interest.

"You know Fuko, if you like that hat so much, I can buy it for you, then you can wear it later to our party," I said.

"No. Fuko is mature, more mature than Okazaki-san, so Fuko cannot wear those childish things," she said.

"Really," I said with a trace of sarcasm in my voice. "Let's go somewhere else then, Furukawa, Kotomi."

We entered the shop, and when I looked back, I still saw that Fuko was staring at the hat.

"You know, you can have it if you want to," I muttered.

"Fuko will be a child this once and purchase this hat!" she chimed.

I facepalmed. No one will ever believe you. Seriously.

About half an hour later, we were on our way to Furukawa's house, with our newly purchased party supplies: crackers, candles, some cupcakes, and a "Pin the tail on the Donkey" game.

"Excuse me for a bit, Okazaki-san, Kotomi-chan, Fu-chan, I just need to tell Mom what we're going to be doing tonight," said Furukawa when we arrived in front of Furukawa Bread. "I'm sure she'll allow me to come with you," she said sadly.

Fifteen minutes later, Furukawa exited her house, and said,

"She allowed me to go, and she wanted to congratulate Fu-chan on a job well done."

"Nagisa-san, Fuko is happy that your mom cares," said Fuko.

Furukawa hugged Fuko and mumbled,

"Of course."

"So, Fuko, where do you want to have your victory party?" I asked. "We should have it indoors, it looks like it'll be cold tonight."

"Fuko wants it to be at the same place her sister is going to be wed," said Fuko.

"But Fu-chan, the school's closed at this time," said Furukawa.

"We're not allowed in there this late, are we?" asked Kotomi nervously.

"Don't worry, I know how we can get in. Besides, no one will be there at this time, so I'm sure it'll be alright," I said confidently, trying my best to allay their concerns.

That being said, the four of us made our way towards the school. I motioned for the three of them to follow me while I veered off the road in a direction east of the gate. About 17 yards from the road, I showed them an opening in the school's fence. I climbed through and I motioned for them to follow. Fuko and Furukawa got through without any problems, but Kotomi had trouble.

"Tomoya-kun, could you unhook my skirt from the piece of aluminum there?" she asked.

Say what? If I did that, I'd end up seeing… Oh God no, this is too embarrassing! However, she continued to expectantly look at me. I sighed audibly, and unhooked her skirt without looking. I then reached for her hand and pulled her through the hole. I half expected her to keep holding my hand and I was perfectly willing to, mind you, but then I remembered we were in other people's company. I let go and saw Kotomi blushing. _I wonder when the opportunity for me will truly arise…_

I then led them to the exterior of the old school building where the Drama clubroom was located. I knew of one room whose window could be pried open from the outside without using any tools[3]. I opened the window, and I helped the three of them through the window. We then made our way through the school from that room, and we found ourselves in the Drama clubroom in no time at all. Kotomi and I decided to arrange the tables in the middle of the room, while Fuko and Furukawa began to unpack the party supplies we had purchased.

"Hey Fu-chan, don't get too down," said Furukawa encouragingly. "I'm also trying my best to do that, so let's just focus on your sister's wedding tomorrow. I'm sure they'll all come."

"Fuko hopes so, so that she'll finally be happy," affirmed Fuko. "No use in being down about it."

Fuko took the party hat from the package we bought, and immediately put it on her head.

"Fu-chan, let's get the party started!" said Kotomi happily, after we had finished setting the tables up.

She was trying to be positive for the sake of the other two, which goes to show how much she cares for them. I guess my mission is going really well.

"Yeah. You guys go ahead, I'll get us some drinks from the vending machine in the cafeteria," I said, exiting the room as I did.

I took some time in pondering what could possibly happen tomorrow while I made my way towards the cafeteria. The darkness seemed to be encroaching on my physical presence, and though I was not afraid of the dark, I felt slightly uncomfortable, as though it was an omen of things that could possibly go wrong tomorrow. Steeling myself, I shrugged the feeling off, and quickened my pace so I wouldn't waste so much time buying drinks for our party.

/

"Congratulations to Fu-chan and Ibuki-sensei!" toasted Nagisa, raising her can of soda into the air.

"Congratulations!"

"Good for you," I echoed, clinking my soda with Kotomi's, Furukawa's, and Fuko's.

The treats we had brought with us were all finished, the candles already on their last wisps of life, and our sodas nearly emptied. Furukawa yawned and said,

"Okazaki-san, I'll take a nap first. Fu-chan, if you don't mind, please stay beside me. Okazaki-san, please wake me up in an hour or so."

Fuko obliged, and moments later, she was beside Furukawa, both of them leaning on each other's shoulders. Furukawa had begun to snore, and Fuko began to watch her as she slept peacefully beside her.

"Tomoya-kun, could we do that too?" asked Kotomi timidly.

Instantly, I felt the blood rush towards my face. _Cool off, dammit. Fuko's too busy staring at Furukawa, so I don't think anyone else'll notice._

"I, umm, uh, sure, Kotomi," I said, facing her with a nervous smile on my face.

Her face, laced with red, lit up at my reply, and she immediately scurried over to the wall, patting the floor beside her, motioning for me to take my place beside her. I obliged, and plopped myself comfortably on the floor beside Kotomi. I glanced over at Fuko and she was still observing Furukawa. I was glad she wasn't paying any attention to me and Kotomi, because before I knew it, Kotomi's head was resting on my shoulder, and she was also fast asleep. _Now what should I do?_

Suddenly, I heard Fuko say something in a voice so soft I nearly missed it.

"…k you for everything, Nagisa-san."

Fuko took me by surprise by planting a kiss on Furukawa's cheek. She then disentangled herself from Furukawa's body and she stood up. She turned towards me and Kotomi and she began to approach us, a look of neutrality on her face.

"Okazaki-san, Fuko will tell only you this, but… I can feel that my memory here won't last much longer. I'm really happy that you helped me accomplish my dream to make my sister happy. For that, you have my thanks."

"Your memory won't last much longer?" I asked urgently. "What does that mean?"

"Because I have done all that I could with my own power to help accomplish my dream, my reason for being in existence is coming to a close. I don't know how much longer this form of mine will exist, or even if it does, how many people will still be able to remember and see me."

"No! I swore I wouldn't forget you!" I yelled, the tears beginning to roll down my cheeks.

"It's alright, Okazaki-san. You can stop trying now, because I'm happy anyway. One last thing; you and Kotomi-san look really good together. Take good care of her, alright? If you don't, I'll never forgive you, and I'll start liking sea slugs more than you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I didn't quite get that last one, but sure… Fuko then crouched down to my and Kotomi's level, and she kissed Kotomi, then to my surprise, me, on the cheek. She stood up again and faced me with a look of sorrow on her face.

"Okazaki-san… Good night," she said.

That was the last thing I remembered of that night.

/

I woke up due to the pain I suddenly felt in my back. I rubbed my eyes and observed my surroundings. I was in school? Why did I sleep here? I then felt someone's face on my shoulder. It was Kotomi, drooling on my uniform. I had to admit, she looked really cute and attractive when she was like that. Perhaps now's a good opportunity to…

"Okazaki-san?" I heard someone say.

I looked to the source of the voice and I saw a groggy Furukawa, stretching her arms in the opposite end of the room.

"Furukawa, why were we here last night again?" I inquired, still seated in my place so I wouldn't wake Kotomi up.

She walked over to the tables and picked up a wooden object that was shaped like a shuriken.

"I think we were trying to design more of these, but I don't seem to recall why. Maybe they were props for our first play?" said Furukawa tentatively.

"Hmm, maybe," I said. "Kotomi. Oi, Kotomi. Wake up. It's morning."

I lightly prodded her arm and she opened her eyes sleepily. She got off me, stretched her arms, and yawned loudly. She blinked a couple of times and said,

"Why did we sleep here in school?"

"Good question," both Furukawa and I said in unison.

/

Furukawa had rushed home to get a change of clothes and to inform her parents of her whereabouts during the previous night, while Kotomi and I wandered about the school. Both of us felt like we were forgetting something really important, and we both didn't feel like going home yet. Something kept us tied to the school on this Sunday, but neither of us could figure out just what it was. We went to the library, and stayed there for two hours. I simply watched Kotomi read, and a short while later, she said that she wanted to walk around some more, because she was still being bugged by that feeling we both shared.

We both passed by the courtyard, and I saw Koumura crouched by a hedge, working on something that was on the ground. Kotomi and I approached him with interest.

"Koumura-sensei, what are you doing?" asked Kotomi.

"Can't you tell just by looking at it, Ichinose-san?" asked Koumura in return.

"It says, 'Congratulations on tying the knot'," I said. "Is someone getting married soon?"

He looked at us with a incredulous look on his face, and said,

"What a strange question. This young and you guys are already developing dementia? I should be the one forgetting things, not you two youngsters. Especially you, Okazaki-kun, you asked me something like this on Monday as well."

"That's really depressing, coming from you," I said curtly.

"Look at it closely and remember it yourself, Okazaki-kun, Ichinose-san," said Koumura sagely.

I stared intently at the banner and tried to remember whatever the hell I was supposed to be remembering. Suddenly, I remembered whose wedding it was.

"Ibuki-sensei!" I exclaimed.

"She's having her wedding here this afternoon in one of the classrooms because your club president, Furukawa-san suggested the idea."

"Oh damn, that's absolutely right!" I said, slamming my right fist into my left palm in indignation.

"Tomoya-kun, how could we forget something as important as that?" asked Kotomi somberly.

"Why did we want to celebrate her wedding though… It's not like I knew her personally… though I feel I was close to someone she was close to, isn't that right, Kotomi?" I asked.

"Yup," she replied, twiddling her thumbs.

Koumura just raised an eyebrow at our dialog, and he shrugged his shoulders, going back to decorating the banner.

"Yes, indeed, there was one person who brought you, me, and Furukawa together in this," I said.

"Could that person possibly be Ibuki-sensei's younger sister?" said Koumura, stroking the top part of the banner with a calligraphy brush.

"Younger sister?" I said, nonplussed. Then, it hit me.

"That wooden shuriken I saw in the clubroom… She loved making those."

Kotomi then audibly gasped.

"Fu-chan!" she said.

"Dammit, yes! Fuko," I exclaimed.

With that revelation in place, I turned around, fully intending on running to Furukawa's house to inform her of what we had forgotten, when I saw something, no, _someone_ that made me stop dead.

It was Fuko, standing mere feet behind us.

"Fu-chan!" cried Kotomi.

"Fuko! Were you with us the entire time?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Yes."

"I'm the worst, aren't I? How could I forget? After swearing I wouldn't…" I said angrily, cursing myself for my failure.

"You aren't the worst," said Fuko. "Like I said last night, it was bound to happen. The fact that you and Kotomi-san remembered is a miracle."

"Don't say that Fu-chan. Tomoya-kun and I always wanted to be with you, to stay with you. I'm sure Nagisa-chan also feels the same way," said Kotomi, who wrapped her arms around Fuko, hugging her.

"Yeah. Let's stay together," I said. "I promise, we'll stay together until your sister's wedding."

Fuko smiled and said,

"Yes. Fuko would like that very much."

/

That afternoon, the three of us made our way towards the classroom where Ibuki-sensei was going to be wed. We saw that preparations were almost done. Suddenly, a woman in a black jacket with short brown hair approached us.

"Excuse me, are you Okazaki-san?" asked the woman.

"Yes I am. Are you Kouko Ibuki-san?" I asked.

"Yes, that's me," she replied. "I've heard so much about you from Nagisa-chan. She said you were helping her pull people to attend my wedding. I thank you for your assistance."

"It's no problem, it was my—" I stopped abruptly, realizing the implications.

"Okazaki-san, is there something wrong?" asked Kouko.

I glanced sideways at Kotomi and Fuko and said,

"No, nothing at all. Anyway, we won't be keeping you, so please get ready for your big event."

"Thank you," she said, as she turned and walked away.

I immediately turned to Fuko and whispered, so that only she and Kotomi could hear me.

"Fuko, why can't your sister see you? I would've thought she could, seeing as she was the closest one to you?"

"I… I… don't know," she said sadly. "But it doesn't matter; as long as she's happy, Fuko is satisfied."

"That shouldn't be the case!" said a voice.

We all looked to the door and saw Furukawa, whose face was red, her uniform dusty; she had obviously run all the way from her home to get here. She immediately threw her arms around Fuko.

"I'm sorry for forgetting about you," she said while crying. "Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive, Nagisa-san," replied Fuko, returning the embrace.

/

"By exchanging rings, you both vow to each other to be truthful to each other forever. Now, repeat after me: This ring I give to you as proof…"

"This ring I give to you as proof—" said Yoshino-san. "— of my eternal love for you."

He slipped the ring onto Kouko's finger, and the congregation applauded, us four included.

Before they could exit the room however, I had already dashed outside, yelling for Furukawa, Kotomi, and Fuko to follow me.

"Let's meet them at the gate!" I cried. "Fuko, show them off with the loudest voice you can muster."

"Sure!" Fuko called.

We passed by the second floor windows, and I looked outside and stopped abruptly. To my surprise, a lot of students were milling around in the courtyard, and upon further inspection, most of them were carrying the wooden carvings we had been giving out. We continued to run until we got outside, and we met, to my great pleasure, Kyou, Fujibayashi, Sunohara, Tomoyo, Sanae-san, and Akio.

"Kyou, Fujibayashi, I'm glad you guys could make it," I said.

"Yeah, actually, we were going to go shopping but…" said Kyou.

"When I saw this this morning, I remembered the wedding," said Fujibayashi, holding up a wooden carving. "It made me feel like I wanted to come here and celebrate too."

Sunohara, who was wearing a suit, approached us.

"Yo Okazaki, Nagisa-chan, Kotomi-chan, Fuko-chan!"

"You came, Sunohara-san," said Furukawa.

"Yeah, since I had some spare time. Also, it was a chance to meet Tomoyo," he said, glancing towards Tomoyo, who raised her eyebrows with an expression of displeasure.

"Don't push it Sunohara. Okazaki, I remembered the wedding when I saw this wooden carving this morning. Without it, I would've forgotten," said Tomoyo.

"See Fuko? We did it! Look at the turnout! It's like the entire school came to celebrate Kouko's wedding," I said.

Fuko's eyes began to water, and tears began to stream down her face.

"I did it," she mumbled. "No, _we_ did it."

"Yeah. We're happy for you; me, Furukawa, and Kotomi," I said earnestly.

"Hey everyone, here comes the bride!" called a voice within the crowd.

Out of the building strolled Kouko and Yoshino, arm-in-arm with each other. Many cries of "Congratulations" were heard, while the two made their way towards the limousine.

"Hey, Okazaki-san," said Fuko.

"Yeah?"

"It was fun while it lasted. This time, Fuko has to go now. I've got a Starfish Festival to go to," she said, facing me, tears streaming down her face. "In fact, every day with you guys was like a Starfish Festival. It was fun, and I felt so at home with you. I have one last request though," said Fuko.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Please call Nagisa-san by her first name. You, her, and Kotomi-san are all close enough to begin calling each other by first names. It's something that Fuko believes will be better for your friendship."

I nodded, and she said,

"Thank you very much. I enjoyed the time with you guys so much."

The tears broke free from my eyes, streaming freely down my face. I hugged her as hard as I could, and the next moment, she was gone. Nagisa and Kotomi noticed this, and they both began to sob as well.

Kouko and Yoshino stopped in front of us while they were making their way to the limousine.

"You guys," said Kouko. "Is something wrong? You three look sad."

Ignoring the tears streaming down my face, I steeled my resolve to let Kouko know about the things Fuko did for her.

"Please listen to me Kouko-san. There was a person who longed to see this sight, who worked hard for the existence of this day, a person who gathered all these people to celebrate your happiness with you. We love that person. We really love her. So…" I broke off, unable to continue.

A look of understanding dawned on her, and she said,

"She was with you three the whole time, wasn't she?"

"Yeah. We were with her because spending time with her made things more fun," I said. "Isn't that right, Nagisa, Kotomi?"

"Yes," they both agreed.

"Therefore, Kouko-san… Please, live your life to the fullest for her sake!" I cried.

"Yes, of course I will," she said.

I suddenly felt something drop into my hand. Looking at it, it was a wooden carving. I subconsciously turned to where the newlyweds had emerged, and then I saw _her_ there. Fuko. She was standing serenely, despite the party hat still being on her head after all that time. She started to walk towards us until she was in front of Kouko. She then extended her arms towards her sister, holding out a starfish carving in them, putting all her feelings into that one congratulatory gesture. Kouko accepted it, and Fuko stepped back.

"Onee-chan… Please, have a wonderful life," said Fuko.

She suddenly hugged Kouko, and repeated those same words.

"Please… Have a wonderful life… Be happy."

"Fu-chan," managed Kouko.

And just like that, she was gone. The sakura petals began to fall from the trees in the courtyard, and a gust of wind picked up, blowing them into the sky.

/

"Say Nagisa. I wonder when Fuko's going to wake up?" I asked during lunch break at the Drama clubroom.

It was one day removed since Kouko and Yoshino-san got married. The three of us were still saddened by Fuko's departure, but we learned to our pleasure last night that a kidney transplant was available and possible to replace Fuko's ailing kidney. Kouko said that it was a miracle that Fuko congratulating her on her wedding and the transplant becoming possible were not coincidences.

"I hope she does soon, Okazaki-san. I'd like to play with her again, isn't that right, Kotomi-chan?" said Nagisa.

"Of course!" said Kotomi.

"Excuse me for a sec you guys, I'm going to go take a leak and buy a soda."

I got up and left the room, proceeding to the washroom. I did my business, and then I went to the cafeteria to buy some soda. I felt euphoric about the entire wedding; the feeling of making Fuko's wish come true made my heart feel warm. Upon entering the cafeteria, I then saw Tomoyo, who also saw me and she waved at me and motioned for me to come near her.

"Congratulations Okazaki on helping that wedding become a success," said Tomoyo. "Someone like you would make a good Student Council member."

"Please tell me you don't mean that, Tomoyo," I said nervously.

"Who knows? Anyway, I'd like to show you something for a second," said Tomoyo in a serious tone.

"What is it?" I asked, surprised by her change in tone.

"Follow me."

She led me to the bulletin board, and pointed out the flyers she had posted of herself.

To my great surprise, I saw they had been vandalized, with phrases like "Delinquent girl" and "Thug in disguise" scrawled over them in permanent marker.

"Someone is using my past faults against me. I have to convince people that I'm no longer like that. Okazaki, will you help me?" asked Tomoyo.

"Of course I will." _After all, it's for a friend, but why am I unconsciously thinking of Kotomi again? It's not like I'm cheating on her or anything, which I can't do because she isn't my girlfriend._

_/_

_[1] – __**Memories Off**_ _is a Visual Novel, whose male protagonist is also named Tomoya, voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa, the seiyuu of Yusuke Yoshino in the Clannad anime. I just found the name to be sort of fitting._

_[2] – I'm stealing Konata's surname here, because I saw the unfinished Clannad version of __**Lucky Star's**_ _OP, "Motteke! Sailor Fuku" and I thought that Fuko indeed looked similar to Konata._

_[3] – This is a reference to a fact that is only stated in the Clannad Visual Novel; specifically, the room Tomoya is referring to is the Reference Room, where Yukine Miyazawa always stays._

_Okay, I'll be frank: I'm not going to include Mei and Yukine in my story. This is because I intend to reduce Youhei's screentime, as this fic shows the blossoming relationship between Kotomi and Tomoya, with Nagisa, unknown to her, being the go-between. Yukine is pretty much a satellite character, and she can be done without, though I lament the loss of the opportunity to have a storage-room curse with Tomoyo. As for the Fujibayashi twins, they'll play good roles in both Nagisa's and Kotomi's arcs, but as of yet, I haven't decided if I'm going to give them both their own mini-arc, like what the TV anime did. I can't give them a full arc, because their game route involves one of the twins winning._

_Lastly, I let the characters remember who Fuko was because I simply wanted to. She deserves to be remembered._


	8. Guided Victory

_A/N: It's my first time adding OCs, so please be nice. Don't worry, they're playing extremely minor roles, and they'll probably never appear again. There's also going to be an action scene, but I'm not too good at writing those, so please bear with me._

_This one's much shorter than the last chapter though._

_/_

**Guided Victory**

"You know what Tomoyo, I think it's better if we let my friends know about this first," I said. "Supposedly, we've got stuff to do for the Drama Club, so I'll have to ask them to excuse me for a bit. After all, I am doing this as a favor for you."

"I don't see a problem with that Okazaki," said Tomoyo, while we stood idly in front of the bulletin boards.

"Let's go," I said. "I'll introduce you to them."

The two of us made our way towards the Drama Clubroom from the first floor. I wondered how I'd justify helping Tomoyo out with her campaigning despite my being obligated to the Drama Club? Would friendship suffice? I'm sure someone like Nagisa would agree to that, but Kyou was the problem.

And when we arrived there, the problem was staring us in the face.

"Oh Tomoya, Ryou and I just got here, we were wondering where you'd ru—" broke off Kyou, who was unpacking her lunch on the table beside her sister, Nagisa, and Kotomi, when she noticed that Tomoyo was with me.

I found it strange that I had become good friends with Tomoyo all because of Sunohara's out of this world logic. That, and that she never managed to catch me with the Drama Club, thus she wasn't acquainted with Kotomi and the others.

"I uh, want to introduce a friend to you guys. This is Tomoyo Sakagami, a junior, and she's currently running for Student Council President. Tomoyo, this is the Drama Club's president, Nagisa Furukawa," I gestured towards Nagisa, "Kyou and Ryou Fujibayashi, club members, and Kotomi Ichinose, school genius."

At that last comment, I could've sworn Kotomi's eyes sparkled.

"Nagisa—" I turned to the club president, "— can I have some time off this week to help Tomoyo out with her campaign? I am supporting her after all."

"It's alright with m—" began Nagisa, but Kyou cut her off.

"Hold it right there Tomoya! Why do you have to do this?"

"Because she's my friend, and friends help others out when they're in need. You, of all people, should know that. Who helped me and Nagisa reestablish the Drama Club? You did! Therefore, you should at least understand where I'm coming from," I replied.

Kyou remained silent for a while, then she finally said,

"I guess you have a point Tomoya. If it's alright with Nagisa, then by all means, go help out your _friend_."

Ignoring the bitterness in Kyou's reply, I looked expectantly at Nagisa, who simply nodded and said,

"It's just like with Fu-chan. Go, Okazaki-san. Do your best to help Sakagami-san."

I nodded, and to my surprise, Tomoyo, who hadn't said a word until now, bowed and said,

"Thank you Furukawa-san. I really appreciate it. If I get elected, I'll be sure to help you guys out in any way possible. You have my word."

"Well, now that that's done, let's start planning for our first play at the school festival," said Nagisa enthusiastically. "I have this play I want to do, but I don't remember what its title was."

"What was it like, Nagisa-san?" asked Fujibayashi.

"Well…" began Nagisa.

"So, Tomoyo , let's go and start planning on your campaign, as well as getting rid of those rumors," I said, the two of us leaving the room.

We were going to go to the courtyard to do some brainstorming, but when we were about to go down the stairs, I heard a voice call out to me.

"Tomoya-kun, wait!"

Tomoyo and I both stopped and turned to the voice.

"Kotomi! What are you doing here? Did something happen?" I asked, a hint of worry in my voice.

She had obviously run from the clubroom to catch up to both me and Tomoyo.

"No, it's just that… Sakagami-san," she said, facing Tomoyo.

"Hmm? What is it?" inquired Tomoyo.

"Can I help you with your campaign as well?" asked Kotomi.

Tomoyo smiled and replied,

"Sure, why not? The more, the merrier, and I'll need all the help I can get."

/

The three of us were sitting in the grass in the courtyard, mulling over just what the problem was.

"Okay Sakagami-san, from what I can tell, these people who are slandering you are using your notorious past to taint your credibility for the elections," said Kotomi.

"I uh, it wasn't that notorious, Ichinose-san. Was it?" asked Tomoyo, a drop of sweat cascading down her forehead as she did so.

"Well Tomoyo, you were pretty legendary a few years ago. I always got into fights on the street, and I'd hear your name get thrown around like it was something to be feared, something so dangerous that a single encounter would leave you crippled for weeks," I said.

Tomoyo sighed audibly and said,

"Well, when you put it that way… They've got a lot of material to use against me."

"What we need to do is to dispel the rumors," said Kotomi. "I think we should utilize some of Sakagami-san's talents to our advantage. For instance, she could have a sparring match with the captain of the Karate Club."

"That sounds like a good idea Kotomi!" I said, giving her a thumbs up.

She smiled gently, and Tomoyo turned towards her, an eyebrow raised.

"Why not Tomoyo? Go have an exhibition sparring match with the Karate Club captain, and let's see what happens," I said.

"I don't see any problems with it," replied Tomoyo.

That being said, later after school, Tomoyo and I sought out the captain of the Karate Club, Honda Kurusugawa, a senior just like me. Kotomi was at the Drama Club, because I told her that she didn't have to spend all her time helping us out. I felt guilty at sending her back when I saw her sad face, but I steeled my resolve. Nagisa did need the manpower right now, if they were brainstorming about a play. I wryly tried to remember if I had ever gotten into a fist fight with Kurusugawa, but seeing as my right shoulder was the only part of my body that was injured, no thanks to Dad, I thought otherwise.

"Oi, Kurusugawa," I called, having spotted our quarry.

Kurusugawa turned towards us. He was a guy that was three inches taller than me, with rough frizzled brown hair. He packed a decent set of muscles, and was, all in all, a very fit and strong man. To make things even more intimidating, he was the older brother of renowned mixed martial arts practitioner Ayaka Kurusugawa[1].

"Oh, Okazaki. What is it?" he asked. "I'm kind of in a hurry to get to the dojo today."

"My friend over here wants to spar with you," I said, gesturing to Tomoyo.

Kurusugawa looked over at Tomoyo and his eyes widened somewhat. Was Tomoyo that infamous back in the day?

"Ah, the legendary Tomoyo Sakagami. I'd be honored to fight her," said Kurusugawa. "When do you want the session to be held?" he asked Tomoyo.

"Actually, today would be preferable," replied Tomoyo.

I gaped at her, then took her aside for a moment.

"Tomoyo, are you serious about this? You're not even going to practice or anything?" I hissed in her ear.

"I'll just do my best, and that's what matters. Besides, Okazaki, during all those years I beat thugs up, I never practiced beforehand. You could argue that they themselves were practice," she said crisply.

_Tomoyo, you can be pretty scary at times_.

"Ah, I see. Then, I'll see you in the Karate dojo in about… an hour from now," said Kurusugawa. "I look forward to sparring with you."

He then turned his back to us and left. I guess what would happen next was all up to fate.

/

An hour had passed, and Tomoyo and I were both standing outside the Karate dojo, which was behind the old school building. Tomoyo and I did nothing over the past hour but to talk pleasantries, and I trusted her judgment of her skills. All she did was to get her bloomers and change into them.

Without any hesitation, Tomoyo entered the dojo and bowed, showing respect. I was shocked to see a lot of people in the dojo; obviously not all of them were Karate Club members. Perhaps these were people who were interested to see a sparring session between the school's toughest fighter and the so-called "Angel of Death."

At the far end of the mat stood Kurusugawa, already wearing his gi and black belt. Tomoyo stepped onto the mat, taking her shoes off as she did so. I approached Tomoyo and said,

"Good luck."

I moved off to the side, and left everything to fate. Actually, it didn't matter whether Tomoyo won or lost, but Kotomi was right; anything to dispel the bad rumors about her would be useful.

"Sakagami-san, are you ready?" asked Kurusugawa.

Tomoyo nodded. Kurusugawa then took up a fighting stance, and he began bobbing on his feet. Without warning, he made the first move by running straight at Tomoyo's left side for a straight punch. Tomoyo dodged to the right and aimed a roundhouse kick at Kurusugawa's head. Kurusugawa expected that, and ducked, using his left arm to land a reverse punch on Tomoyo's exposed abdomen. To his surprise, Tomoyo had used the kick's momentum to move into a roll, dodging the punch as she did so, and she emerged three meters away, standing up and returning to her neutral position.

This time, Kurusugawa tried to go at her right, using simple punches to attempt to hit her; after all, he knew better than to use flashy moves against the "Angel of Death", who had dispatched gang members in the streets of Hikarizaka when she was in junior high.

Tomoyo dodged the first punch, but the second one hit home, and she flew a foot backwards onto the mat, clutching her abdomen. Kurusugawa moved back, in case she had a counterattack ready.

"Tomoyo!" I shouted instinctively, and the crowd gasped dramatically.

However, Tomoyo stood up, looking unfazed by the blow she had received. This time, Tomoyo took initiative, going at Kurusugawa's right side with a left roundhouse kick. Kurusugawa ducked under the kick, and decided to aim another punch at Tomoyo's abdomen, when he suddenly felt the heel of Tomoyo's foot slam into his nape. He then fell to his knees, but he was quickly able to roll out of the way before Tomoyo could punch him in the face while he was down.

The karate club members gasped; but some of them were staring at Tomoyo in awe, at how she had eased into an axe kick from a missed roundhouse kick.

Kurusugawa then moved in with a knife-hand strike to Tomoyo's left temple, however, all he sliced at was air, and he suddenly felt the support his feet was giving him give way. He crumpled onto the ground, and Tomoyo drove a punch straight into his face. He reacted as fast as he could, and rolled to his left, Tomoyo's punch missing his face by mere inches. Tomoyo decided to press her attack, but Kurusugawa took a leaf out of Tomoyo's book and swept her feet under, grabbing her left arm as she fell. He then began to twist her arm, using his knee to apply pressure to her shoulder.

I was shocked that he changed styles midway through a fight, but then I realized how much danger Tomoyo was in. He could actually dislocate her shoulder with what he was doing, and I knew how bad that would be. However, before I could interfere, she rolled over and using her momentum, she was able to throw Kurusugawa off, sending him crashing into the mat a meter away.

The crowd began cheering, with most of the non-Karate club members obviously being on Tomoyo's side.

Kurusugawa immediately got up, and so did Tomoyo. Their eyes locked for a second; they were both tired. Their heads gave each other a fraction of a nod; they were obviously going to decide the match with this next exchange. This time, Kurusugawa moved to Tomoyo's left, appearing to aim a punch at her left side with his right hand. Instead, he feinted left, instead throwing a punch towards Tomoyo's right side with his left hand. To his surprise, he felt himself get kicked in the chest; Tomoyo had seen the feint, and instead of moving to her right as Kurusugawa hoped, she moved towards her left, ducked, and snapped her leg up towards his exposed chest. Kurusugawa then crumpled onto the floor. He tried to get up, but he grunted loudly and held his hand out against Tomoyo.

"Sakagami-san, you win. You bruised my chest with that last kick."

Tomoyo nodded, and then approached him,

"Kurusugawa, would you need some help in going to the infirmary?"

"Don't worry, my club members can treat me. We always have a first aid kit handy, and besides, with this sparring match being unofficial and outside club policy, we can't possibly go to a place run by the authorities, can we?" he said, smiling despite the pain. "Thank you, I had a good match."

Kurusugawa bowed slightly towards Tomoyo, and he went to the side to get his chest treated. The crowd began to disperse, and as they did so, I could hear some of the conversation that was being thrown around.

"She's really vicious, isn't she?"

"Nah, she's actually quite honorable. She even offered to help Kurusugawa-san to the infirmary."

"You got a point."

"Sakagami-san is amazing, as usual."

"I knew those rumors were just piles of bullshit."

I smiled at what I heard, and I looked towards Tomoyo. She walked towards me, smiling as well.

"Hey Tomoyo, is your chest fine?"

She rubbed the spot where Kurusugawa got a punch in earlier and said,

"Don't worry Okazaki, I'm fine. I'll have to thank Ichinose-san for this idea later."

"You know Tomoyo, this isn't the only thing we can do to dispel those rumors," I said, smiling hugely.

/

For the rest of the week, Kotomi and I had Tomoyo participate against other clubs in exhibition matches or games. She went up against the Kendo club's Motoko Katsura[2], the Judo club's Mitsuuru Haninozuka[3], the Softball club's Shigeru Houjou[4] in a pitcher/batter strikeout showdown, and she even won against the Mahjong Club's Hayate Miyanaga[5] and three of her members with a _rinshan kaihou_[6] during the final _hanchan_.

By Friday, it was safe to say that the rumors were as good as gone. Tomoyo and I were alone in an empty classroom, whiling time away, since both of us were pretty tired due to all the events that had happened during the past week. The election was tomorrow, and the debate that Tomoyo invited the other candidates to on Wednesday was a huge success. While the other candidates were focused on pleasing the student body with trivial (at least for me) promises, such as improving the food selections in the cafeteria, shortening class periods by ten minutes, and even proposing that physical examinations be held in a co-ed fashion, Tomoyo outright stated that she would save the sakura trees from being cut down by real-estate developers and other businessmen for their own purposes. Many in the crowd were swayed, and I was glad to see more people were seeing Tomoyo as a hardworking and sincere person, rather than the thug from the past that kicked gangster ass for a hobby.

Kotomi was with Nagisa and the others; I had told her to go on with them.

"Okazaki."

"What, Tomoyo?" I asked, looking at her as she leaned against the teacher's desk.

"When I first transferred here, I was unsure whether or not I could fit in. Now, thanks to you, people are accepting me for who I've changed into, without thinking of the old me, the one who took her anger out on thus because of her broken family. Now, that family is fixed, and I will do my best to protect it," said Tomoyo with confidence. "I'm really glad I met you."

I smiled at her, glad that she had a chance to fulfill her dreams.

"Okazaki," she said again, this time, walking towards me until she was right in front of me.

"What is it, Tomoyo?" I asked.

"I uh, have something to ask and tell you," whispered Tomoyo nervously.

I looked at her closely and saw that she was blushing. It was so unlike Tomoyo to be uncomfortable like this; I had always seen her as an aloof person, whose emotions could not be read, save for a few times. Come to think of it, those few times were when she was with me. She wasn't like this with anyone else. Wait a second, could it be?

I paled at what I thought she would say. I wasn't disappointed.

"Okazaki… No, _Tomoya_. I… I… uh…" she stuttered.

Then she suddenly shouted, not being able to hold it in anymore.

"Tomoya, I love you! Please go out with me!" said Tomoyo, a fire seemingly burning in her eyes.

I fell silent. I saw that she was really blushing and that she couldn't look at me after that outburst. It didn't take me much longer to figure my response out.

"Umm, Tomoyo…"

"Yes?" she said expectantly.

"I… can't. There's someone else on my mind right now. I'm sorry," I said quietly.

I expected her to go out like a balloon that was popped with a needle, but to my surprise, she stayed firm.

"Well… I guess it can't be helped," said Tomoyo. "But… Oka— Tomoya… Can we remain as friends?"

I nodded and smiled at her.

"Sure, why not? But you kinda shocked me Tomoyo… I think I'll have to take my leave for now," I said. "See you tomorrow, and good luck with the elections."

I left her in the classroom, and as I passed the door, a hand grabbed my uniform. I faced the person, about to hit him for accosting me, when I saw Sunohara, of all people. He looked like he was ready to cry.

"Dammit Okazaki, why are you such a freaking chick magnet!" he wailed.

Sunohara then let go of me and then he ran away. I heard footsteps from inside the classroom, and I saw Tomoyo rush out into the hallway.

"Tomoya, what's wrong? Did something happen?" asked Tomoyo.

I pointed towards the fleeing Sunohara and said,

"It seems like he heard your confession."

"Oh. Well, I hope that keeps him away from me," said Tomoyo.

We both chuckled, and then I bid her goodbye once again, and went to the Drama clubroom. Perhaps I could accompany Kotomi home again today…

/

It was Saturday afternoon, and Kotomi, Nagisa, Kyou, Fujibayashi and I were in the Drama clubroom. We had begun to discuss the play Nagisa wanted to perform, although it was more of them filling me in on what I missed while I took the week off to help Tomoyo, when the PA suddenly rang.

"_Attention students. Our new Student Council President is… Tomoyo Sakagami! I repeat: Tomoyo Sakagami has been elected as the new Student Council President."_

"Yes!" I exclaimed and pumped my fist into the air.

"This is great!" exclaimed Kotomi.

"Looks like you worked hard with Sakagami-san, Okazaki-san," said Nagisa. "Congratulations."

"Good job Tomoya, though I'm still pissed that you left us for her," said Kyou.

"A job well done, Okazaki-kun," said Fujibayashi.

"I can't take all the credit. After all, Kotomi was the one who provided me and Tomoyo with the crucial idea," I said, gesturing to Kotomi, who was seated beside me. "Kotomi, good work."

She smiled at me and replied,

"Thank you, Tomoya-kun."

She then placed her hand on mine under the table, so that no one else could see. She winked at me, signaling me not to let anyone else know. It was that moment that I knew for sure what I had been feeling all along. Why I rejected Tomoyo.

I was in love with Kotomi Ichinose.

However…

Would I be worthy enough of her?

/

_[1] – Ayaka Kurusugawa is a character from __**To Heart**__, who excelled at mixed martial arts._

_[2] – This name is a play on the characters Motoko Aoyama from __**Love Hina**_ _and Hinagiku Katsura from __**Hayate the Combat Butler**__. Both characters are quite adept with fighting using shinai and kendo sticks._

_[3] – The surname Haninozuka is taken from Mitsukuni Haninozuka, a.k.a. Honey-senpai from __**Ouran High School Host Club**__._

_[4] – The surname Houjou is taken from Satoshi Houjou from __**Higurashi no Naku Koro ni**__._

_[5] – This name is a play on the characters Hayate Yagami from __**Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha **__and Saki Miyanaga from __**Saki**__. Both characters are voiced by seiyuu Kana Ueda._

_[6] – Rinshan Kaihou is Saki Miyanaga's trademark finishing move from the Mahjong anime __**Saki**__._

_So Tomoya loves Kotomi. Oh-I-totally-did-not-see-that-coming._

_J/k. :)_

_So there ends Tomoyo's arc. Up next is Nagisa's arc, which will focus on the play, and with Kotomi and Tomoya coming over to the Furukawa household more often. For fans of Akio and Sanae, they're getting more screentime! Read and review please! :)_


	9. Preparation

_I present the beginning of Nagisa's arc. Honestly, I plan this as I go along, so I can't say how many chapters her arc will last._

_I've also noted that I have a few inconsistencies with honorifics, like okaa-san vs Mom and stuff. I'm going to stick to the Japanese honorific instead of using Mom, and I'll edit the offending inconsistencies when I have time._

_Prepare yourself for the fantasy elements of the Clannad franchise._

_/_

**Preparation**

"_Tomoya-kun, look! It's the sea," said Kotomi happily, grabbing my small hand and pointing away from the beach we were at._

"_It's really cool to look at, isn't it, Kotomi-chan?" I said. "Why don't we go swim for a while?"_

_Kotomi rubbed her chin thoughtfully and said,_

"_Yup, let's do that. I'll ask okaa-san first if it's alright to go swimming right away. She said that we might have to settle down and unpack the stuff we brought in the room first."_

"_I'll come with you Kotomi-chan."_

_The two of us walked back towards the place we were staying for the night. It was a two-storey building, and we had to climb a flight of stairs before we could enter our room._

"_Okaa-san, can Tomoya-kun and I go swimming right now?" asked Kotomi._

"_Someone has to watch the two of you though; we can't leave you two alone in case something happens. Naoyuki would go ballistic if something happened to Tomoya-kun, right?" Obaa-san asked, facing me._

"_I guess so. Pops can get overprotective at times even though as a boy, I can handle myself," I said sheepishly._

"_You're still young though, so it's best that we don't worry him," said Obaa-san. "Kotomi-chan, otou-san's finished up with unpacking the stuff, so he can go watch over the two of you."_

"_Okay okaa-san. Tomoya-kun, let's get our swimsuits and change," said Kotomi._

"_But Kotomi-chan, I'll just take my shirt off and that's it," I said._

"_Oh… That's too bad. I wanted Tomoya-kun to help me change," she said._

"_I-Idiot! I can't do that Kotomi-chan!" I exclaimed, blushing profusely._

"_Why not Tomoya-kun?" asked Kotomi innocently._

_/_

I awoke with a start, but to my surprise the sun's rays weren't peeking through the venetian blinds that covered the sole window in my room. I tried to recall the dream I was having, but to no avail, I had forgotten just what it was that I was dreaming about. However, I did have a nagging suspicion that it was something pretty embarrassing though.

I sat up in bed and yawned loudly. I looked at the alarm clock beside my bed and the time read six-thirty. I was awake a full hour before I normally set my alarm clock for, and that's because I'd often turn it off and come to school sometime around third period. However, after becoming friends with Nagisa and Kotomi again, I had become more punctual in attending classes. My earlier dislike of joining the Drama Club had almost completely disappeared. I felt good when I helped other people. I was a person who lived to protect and help others, despite my delinquent nature within the halls of our school. It was because prior to meeting them, I did not have anything worth protecting. Sunohara was a fellow delinquent, a comrade, one who I didn't have to protect; after all, he could take care of himself.

Nagisa and Kotomi on the other hand, and later Fuko, all of them needed help. Even Tomoyo, the legendary "Angel of Death" approached me for help, and consequently, she had fallen for me. I'm not smug when I say this, nor am I belittling my fortune for having a wonderful woman fall for me, but it's really troublesome. The last thing I needed was for either Fujibayashi or even Nagisa getting the hots for me, but I'd doubt that.

I got out of bed and went downstairs, and as usual, my father was slumped onto the floor. I rearranged him into a more comfortable position, though that action was borne out of obligation more than actual love and care. The man did abandon his post as a father, and I felt bitter about it. I took a shower and dressed up for school.

I don't think that I'd attract more girls. I didn't want to take Sunohara's bitter outburst to heart when he called me a "freaking chick magnet." No doubt he was frustrated, and I decided yesterday to let him be for the time being, until he decided that he wasn't pissed off at me anymore.

The watch in my room now read seven, and I decided to head to school this early. Koumura must be pleased if he knew what a positive influence Nagisa and Kotomi have been on me. Tomoya Okazaki coming to school regularly and on time was something that hadn't happened in the past two years that I had been in high school.

Times change however, and I was reminded of yesterday's lunch meeting at the Drama Club.

/

_If I was embarrassed at Kotomi holding my hand under the table where no one but the two of us could notice this, I hid it as best as I could, lest Nagisa or even worse Kyou find out. I decided to stop pushing my luck and I gently wriggled my fingers away from Kotomi's. I looked at her with an apologetic look on my face, and she relented, a sad smile on her face._

_It was a monumental revelation that I was in love with her. I'd always thought of her as a friend, someone whose presence I'd always acknowledge and welcome whenever she so pleased to spend time with me. Then again, perhaps I was just idiotic and dense, but I didn't care at this point._

_Then again, I could merely be infatuated with her. If I rode these feelings right now without any regard to what could possibly happen, I might be even more undeserving of her than I am right now. I'd probably be the biggest douchebag in existence if I took advantage of these feelings without properly evaluating them. What if this was a temporary thing? I decided to just lie low for the moment and not act on these feelings I was having. It was for her sake after all._

"_So everyone, the School Festival's will be held on the Sunday that is two weeks from now. I was thinking of something that we could do and I only knew about the play that I remembered," said Nagisa._

"_What play was that?" asked Fujibayashi with interest as she took a mouthful of her lunch._

"_The one I told you about last week," said Nagisa. "Oh but since Okazaki-san was busy helping Sakagami-san out with the Student Council elections, I might as well retell what I remember for his benefit. Kotomi-chan was able to catch up, but at the time, Okazaki-san was too busy with Sakagami-san."_

_I noticed a timid tone to her voice and Kyou commented,_

"_Yeah Tomoya, you might have been getting a little _too _friendly with Sakagami."_

"_That's not how it is at all!" I yelled. "Sure, she confe—"_

_I covered my mouth before I could continue, but Kyou picked up on it before I could stop myself._

"_She confessed to you!" she crowed._

_To my immense surprise, everyone at the table was blushing, myself included. Great, I was passed the Idiot Ball and now I had to go embarrass myself._

"_Yeah," I said quietly, deciding that there was no point in hiding it._

"_And so?" she prompted._

"_I turned her down," I said flatly._

_Kyou gasped, but then she breathed out a sigh of relief._

"_Maybe you've got someone else on your mind?" asked Kyou, a steely glint in her eyes._

"_I uh— no, I don't have anyone on my mind right now," I said, feigning indifference._

_With the newfound feelings I had discovered within myself, I felt like I wanted to kick myself at that very moment because I noticed the dejected look on Kotomi's face._

"_That's because I'm not yet ready for such a relationship, but maybe in the future…" I trailed off uncertainly, trying to save face._

_I succeeded, because Kotomi's melancholy seemed to be siphoned away; however, I found Kyou looking at me with a look of extremely thinly veiled interest. That was when I decided to rerail the discussion to topics more relevant than my personal life._

"_Anyway Nagisa—" I said, turning to her, "— weren't we discussing the play you wanted to do for the School Festival?"_

"_Ah yes, Okazaki-san," said Nagisa, who had been quiet the entire time that the conversation revolved around my personal life. "I don't know the title though, but I think I saw it when I was a child."_

"_So, what's it about?" I asked._

"_It's about a girl who lived in a world that ended. Nothing was left; all she could see outside the shack she stayed in were deep valleys, mountains capped with snow, and rolling plains of wheat. The only life-forms left that she could see were sheep, and she felt very lonely."_

"_So, I'm assuming this is a solo play and you're going to be the actress, right?" I asked._

"_Yes. Okazaki-san, do you remember the lines I was practicing on the night you had dinner with us?"_

"_Oh, those were lines from that play?"_

"_Yes. The story goes on when the girl decides that she doesn't want to be lonely anymore. So, she builds a robot made out of junk that's lying around the shack she stays in."_

"_So she makes a companion for herself. Does the robot do anything?" I asked._

"_At first, the robot couldn't do anything. It was just like a regular doll. Then, the girl noticed an orb of light floating into the shack, and it descended onto the doll. That was when the doll came alive," said Nagisa._

"_This isn't one of those horror concepts where inanimate objects come to life and kill the people, right?" I said wryly._

"_No, of course not, Okazaki-san! I don't like those things, so I definitely wouldn't want to do a play about that," exclaimed Nagisa, while Kyou chuckled. "So yes, the robot did come alive, but he didn't eat or kill the girl. He became friends with the girl, and the girl taught him many, many things. Walking and carrying things too."_

"_So does it have a plot of any kind? I still don't get it," I said, my voice laced with skepticism, while I scratched my head._

"_Of course there is. The final winter would come, and the world would be destroyed. Before that, the girl escapes The World That Never Was[1] with the help of the robot, and they both went back to the worlds they came from," said Nagisa. "The story is pretty sad, but the ending they get is pretty happy."_

_/_

I guess before I knew it, I was already at school. I entered our classroom, and I sat down in my seat, unsurprised that the seat beside me was still unoccupied. I positioned myself to take a nap, but then I suddenly felt someone prodding me in the back gently. I tried to ignore the feeling, but the prodding got harder and harder. Eventually, I had enough and raised my head from between my arms. I turned to the offender.

"Dammit, I'm trying to sle— Kyou?" I cut myself off midsentence. "What the hell is that for? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep? I've still got fifteen minutes to nap and you're wasting my time."

"Listen to me Tomoya. I need you to walk Ryou home for me after class," said Kyou. "I have to go to the shopping district to buy groceries for tonight. I'll leave her in your care."

I looked towards Fujibayashi, who turned in her seat to face us. She gave me a nervous smile while she was turning redder and redder. She turned away, unable to hold my gaze much longer.

However, I always walked Kotomi home. Well, until the intersection at least. I could be nice though, and this was a golden opportunity to see what the Fujibayashi twins were trying to pull. Dense I may be, but some things are obvious even for me.

"I don't see a problem with that. I'll have to mention this to _Kotomi_ though," I said, deliberately adding that last part.

You could say it was my personal security to align myself right now with the person who liked me. However, so I wouldn't be unfair to her, I'll take my time to sort my own feelings out first. In the event that I was sure of my feelings, I didn't even know if I was _worthy_ of her.

Kyou only raised an eyebrow at my statement and she slapped me on the back, leaving before I could utter a word at her for hitting me.

As I rubbed my back, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of first period. I sighed loudly. Why did Kyou have to waste my nap time?

/

It was third period, and my eyes lazily wandered across the classroom, when a sudden movement caught my eye. The classroom door opened, and I saw a half-asleep Sunohara enter the room. The teacher looked at him with disdain; to an outsider, it was evident that this was a regular event in our class. He sat down beside me and I decided to strike up a conversation with him, to gauge if he was willing to talk to me.

"Yo, Sunohara," I whispered.

He looked sleepily at me and asked,

"What?"

"Kyou asked me to walk Fujibayashi home after school. I accepted. What do you reckon?"

He just sighed and turned away from me, muttering angrily under his breath. Be reasonable here, I'm not even sure if Fujibayashi was willing to make moves on me. It'd be out of character for her if she did so. Then again, the older sister might be pushing her to. I better keep my guard up later.

/

"Everyone, this is how a play is run," said Koumura. "There are many things that have to be managed in a play. Lighting, Sounds, Floor directing, though I think you youngsters could do without that last one, and props. First, we must divide the labor. Since you're going to be doing a solo play, with Furukawa-san as the actress, the rest of you—" he pointed at Kyou, Fujibayashi, Kotomi, and me. "—will have to cover the other jobs. You should talk among yourselves and decide who will cover what. Furukawa-san, come over here, let's practice some of those lines that you've recalled, while we don't have a complete script yet."

"Yes, Koumura-sensei," said Nagisa, who went to where Koumura was.

"If you wish…,"said Nagisa, her hands clasped together, eyes closed. She opened them and continued, stretching her right arm at us.

"Would you like me to take you? To the place in this city where wishes come true."

She stopped and said sheepishly,

"That and a few other lines are all that I have at the moment. I'll continue with writing the script soon enough. I'll practice my style of oration first."

We all applauded her performance. Nagisa blushed, embarrassed, and she proceeded to continue working with Koumura, who now handed her a printout with a list of words on it. He then told her to say the words aloud over and over for the next ten minutes, while he watched.

Meanwhile, the four of us started to discuss among ourselves the roles we would take up in the Drama Club's first production.

"I'll be in charge of the background music," said Kotomi. "I have a small collection of classical music at home thanks to the violin lessons I had been taking until I started high school. I'll bring some of the CDs soon and we can let Nagisa-chan pick out good BGMs for scenes."

"Ryou and I will be in charge of props, since Nagisa said that her mother would make her costume," said Kyou. "Oh Tomoya, I hope you haven't forgotten your appointment after school, right?"

She subtly glanced at Fujibayashi as she said so, and I immediately picked up and reluctantly nodded an affirmative.

"Then that leaves the lighting to me, I guess," I said. "Since I'm the only man here, I might as well be in charge of the curtains too. That'll be kinda hard… I need one of you to cover for me at the lights when I'll work with the curtain's pulleys."

"I'll do it, Tomoya-kun," piped Kotomi cheerfully.

"Well, that's settled then," I said. "Let's get to work then."

The remainder of the lunch period was spent discussing the play; we had a dilemma thinking on how to simulate Nagisa's shack in the play she was going to act out, but we finally decided on a wooden round table with a vase on it, as well as windows made out of cardboard and cellophane that'll be fastened to the backdrop.

One thing was nagging me though; Nagisa's play was so familiar that I felt like I knew the story and even knew what the setting looked like.

/

Before I knew it, school was already over. As I was gathering my things, I noticed Fujibayashi approach me timidly. I nodded at her and smiled, trying to ease her nervousness at the prospect of something as boring as Tomoya Okazaki walking her home.

"I'm sorry for this, Okazaki-kun," said Fujibayashi. "I know that you normally walk Kotomi-chan home."

"It's no big deal, really. Not that your sister wouldn't force me otherwise," I said.

"Onee-chan needs to cool off sometimes," said Fujibayashi.

"Damn right she does," I said, chuckling. Fujibayashi laughed too, her nervousness significantly reduced by the conversation I derailed into talking about Kyou without her presence to hear our comments. "You know, I've always wondered why you like fortune telling so much."

I motioned for her to follow me, and I went to the vending machine that was beside the music store that Kotomi and I visited a while ago and bought two sodas for us.

"But Okazaki-kun, you don't have to," protested Fujibayashi.

"Go ahead and be selfish for once," I said. "It's my treat."

My words made her frown though, as though something troubled her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way," I said, leaning against the wall while she sat down on a bench across me.

"It's not your fault Okazaki-kun. It's mine, if anything. I feel guilty for asking for help from my sister when she wants the same thing," said Fujibayashi.

I raised an eyebrow and asked,

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Eh!" she exclaimed. "Oh, ah it's this piece of jewelry we both want, but instead she said that she'd help me get it for myself, even though she also wanted it. That's why I feel so guilty, but despite that, I felt happy that she was going to help me out. So, I'm plenty selfish, actually," she muttered, not looking at me.

Well I didn't expect that.

"By the way, you haven't answered my question from earlier. Why do you like fortune telling so much?" I asked, steering away the topic from something she obviously did not want to talk about.

"Well, all girls like fortune-telling at the genetic level," she said.

"Your accuracy needs work though. Don't get me wrong; this is constructive criticism. And I believe you were right once," I said.

"Really? When?" she asked, excitement in her voice.

"_This is the queen of spades. On your way here, you'll have a romantic meeting with a kind girl."_

_Clearing her throat, she continued, this time indicating another card,_

"_This is the ten of diamonds, and this is the ace of hearts. You'll lose track of time and arrive late. Very detailed, isn't it?"_

Well it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but I did meet Kotomi that day.

"The day you read my fortune and dropped the entire deck."

"Oh… I got it right?"

"Just part of it, and I'm not telling," I said in an uncharacteristically playful tone.

"But that time aside, I never got anything else right, right?" she asked in a somber tone.

"Well… Yeah," I said quietly, sitting beside her on the bench.

"It's a pity I don't get it right, but I think it's better than I'm wrong more often than right," said Fujibayashi.

"But why would you want that?" I asked in confusion. "Doesn't that defeat the purpose of actually telling fortunes?"

"If the prediction comes true, then it's as if there's only one future. If it fails, we can safely think that many other futures and possibilities exist. It's like the spawn of a multiverse, but I think someone like Kotomi-chan can explain that kind of concept much better than I do."

"So it's like viewing the millions of possibilities that could happen without restricting yourself to one future because of an accurate fortune?" I asked.

"Yes. We never know how the future shifts because of the slightest change in events. I choose to believe that there are many possibilities awaiting our futures, and not just one predetermined path," she replied, standing up.

"I see what you mean," I said, following suit.

The rest of our trip was uneventful, and me and Fujibayashi parted ways at the corner that led to her house. I didn't want Kyou to actually see me bringing her sister home. That being said, I wandered the town for a few hours and went home sometime around nine in the evening, if the clock at the train station was to be believed when I left that place about fifteen minutes ago.

I ignored my unconscious father slumped in the living room, too tired to even tidy him up. I took my shirt off and immediately plopped myself in a comfortable position. Within seconds, I was fast asleep.

/

_This was a world that had ended. Nothing is born, neither does anything die. Even time does not exist. If I were searching for a place to be born, then it definitely isn't meant to be here._

_Then I saw the girl. She was wearing a white dress, with long chestnut colored hair. It seemed that she was the only living thing in this lonely world. I felt that she could see me, as if she wanted my company. And I was right. I looked down and to my surprise, I had a body made of garbage. She extended her hand towards me and said,_

"_Come here. You can walk now."_

_I shakily got to my feet and began to walk towards her, taking one step at a time. My memory is stagnant. I can't remember anything even if I put all my power into such an act. I had no idea who I was, or what I was doing here in The World That Never Was. A world that had ended, yet had no beginning._

_I fell onto my face, and I did not want to fail the girl, so I got up. I walked towards her and finally reached her, and she wrapped her arms around me in a gentle hug. I cannot talk to her; my voice was non-existent and couldn't reach her. However, this was the only warmth I sought in this world. However, I was made of garbage, and I couldn't feel the warmth of the girl._

_/_

I awoke with a start, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock on the table. It read three in the morning. That dream… It was exactly like the play that Nagisa wanted to do. But why did I know about that play? It was as if I had been there watching it, or even more astounding, I had acted in that play. I had even dreamt about it. I couldn't think straight, but I burned the dream into my mind, so that I could use it to help Nagisa's play out later when we met in the Drama clubroom.

That being said, I fell back against the covers and fell asleep, my sleep unperturbed by dreams.

/

_[1] – This is a reference to the world where Organization XIII held their base of operations in __**Kingdom Hearts 2**__._

_This will probably be the most fantasy/mystical arc, since we're dealing with the Illusionary World here. Review please! :)_


	10. Through the Looking Glass

_The usual disclaimers, yada yada, go here._

_/_

**Through the Looking Glass**

The dream I had was enough to throw me way off track, and as a result, I ended up leaving the house just as fourth period began, by my reckoning. On the way out of the house, I saw my father's still form slumped on the living room floor; his surroundings littered with discarded chip bags, bottles of beer, sake, vodka, and soiled clothing. I stalked past him and upon reaching the door, stopped, and turned around to appraise him once more.

His appearance was just pissing me off; everything I saw was just another cruel reminder of how this man had given up on me, his own son.

"Tch," I muttered angrily as I slid the door open and departed for school.

/

Upon reaching the school's gates, I was unsurprised to see that barely anyone was around at this time. It was nearing the end of fourth period though, and with lunch break coming up, I was sure that the cafeteria and halls would be filled with students milling about, trying to purchase their share of bread from the lady in the cafeteria. I decided to proceed immediately to the cafeteria to preempt the arrival of the rest of the student body, passing the staff room on the way there.

I heard a familiar voice coming from the staff room.

"Thank you very much, Koumura-sensei," said the voice, whose owner stepped out into the hallway, bowing towards the direction of the staff room.

"Nagisa!" I called. "What are you doing here at this time? Shouldn't you be in class?"

How ironic of Tomoya Okazaki to be asking that of anyone.

"Okazaki-san! I was sent by our English teacher to get a few materials from Koumura-sensei for the final activity of the lecture of the day. What are you doing here?" she fired back at me.

"To be honest, I overslept. I'll tell you guys more about it later when lunch break begins. In the meantime, head back to class; I'll be waiting in the clubroom with bread for you and Kotomi. Would you like some _anpan_ or _tonkatsu pan_?"

I thought of getting bread for Kotomi and myself, but upon seeing Nagisa, I decided that I might as well get some for her. Just like that day when I first met her, she couldn't get the bread she wanted because she was always last to fall in line; by the time she got to the saleslady, all that was left was _anpan_.

"I'd like some of the _tonkatsu pan_ Okazaki-san, but _anpan_ is fine with me," replied Nagisa sweetly.

Inwardly, I chuckled at how cute and polite she was. Perhaps indeed, in another world…

"You know there's no need to hold back with me, _buchou_[1]. You better head off to class; I'll be seeing you and everyone else later for lunch," I said crisply.

Nagisa bowed and left, scurrying along the hallway back towards the third floor. Now, to get some of that bread for Nagisa, Kotomi, and myself.

/

It was a sign of the type of day I was having: after splitting up with Nagisa in the hallway, I made my way towards the cafeteria, only to discover that the bread saleslady hadn't opened up shop yet. I then took a seat in the empty cafeteria by the vending machine and decided to rest my eyes for a few moments.

You can probably guess what happened next. I woke up to the noise and bustle of an overcrowded cafeteria; there were even people sitting at the same table I was sleeping at. The line at the bread store had already shortened, but to my dismay, only _anpan_ was left. I purchased some anyway, and cursing my stupidity, I made my way towards the Drama clubroom with three plastic bags containing _anpan_ in hand.

"Yo!" I called out as I entered the room, seeing Kotomi, Nagisa, Fujibayashi, Kyou, and to my surprise, Sunohara.

"Hello Tomoya-kun," Kotomi greeted cheerfully, her face laced with a dash of red which was thankfully unnoticed by Kyou.

"Okazaki-san, welcome back!" said Nagisa.

"Good morning, Okazaki-kun," greeted Fujibayashi.

"Tomoya, where the hell were you this morning!" shouted Kyou.

"Yo, Okazaki," said Sunohara, flashing me a "V" peace sign.

I moved over to the table and sat down beside Sunohara, where the only available chair was placed. I was passing the bread over to Nagisa when I noticed Kotomi pouting slightly and I suspected that Kyou must've switched the chairs before I arrived. Of course, I let it slide, since I don't want to get concussed by a flying dictionary. I handed Kotomi's bread over to her and turning to Sunohara, I spoke,

"Let me ask you first: what the hell are you doing here Sunohara? I thought you were mad at me."

Sunohara puffed his chest out and replied,

"Yeah, I still am mad at you Okazaki, you lucky bastard you. However, I thought: '_There's no use in moping_,' so I decided to help you guys out for the play Nagisa-chan is going to act in. It's a sign of my love for you, Nagisa-chan!"

Nagisa blushed and began to fidget. She then said softly,

"Umm… I'm sure there's someone better for you than me, Sunohara-san."

"Weren't you in love with Tomoyo yesterday?" I asked pointedly.

"Rejected," said Kyou smugly, as Sunohara began weeping like an idiot.

"Dumped right away… Damn you Okazaki!" screamed Sunohara, at which he stood up and ran out of the room in haste.

"What the hell was that?" asked Kotomi of no one in particular, at which all of us turned to her in stunned silence.

"P-Perfect _tsukkomi_," stuttered Kyou. "Too bad Youhei wasn't here to hear that coming from Kotomi of all people."

I laughed loudly, causing everyone to look at me.

"Well it _was_ actually brilliant, right Kotomi?" I asked, smiling at her.

She smiled back and I felt like the temperature in my face had gone up by a few degrees Centigrade when suddenly I heard Kyou coughing loudly.

"_Anyway_, shouldn't we be getting back to discussing our plans for the School Festival play?" asked Kyou rhetorically.

"Ah Tomoya-kun, thank you for the bread," said Kotomi as she munched on the bread as Nagisa was doing the same.

Man, I really wanna take Kotomi home— wait, that has a _lot_ of shady implications right there…

***BAM***

I angrily turned to Kyou who was smiling smugly at me, a copy of _Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary _in hand.

"What the hell did you hit me with that for!" I literally screamed at her.

"You were distracting Kotomi from partici—"

***THWAP***

"What the hell Kyou-chan!" shouted Kotomi, _harisen_[2] in hand.

Did Kotomi just slap Kyou across the face with a _harisen?_ Out of nowhere? The world never ceases to amaze me.

"I'll have to admit, that was perfect, Kotomi," said Kyou grudgingly while Kotomi beamed, facing me.

"Umm…" spoke up Nagisa, "Shouldn't we be getting back to work?"

"That's right Nagisa, so today we're supposed to talk about directing and cues guys," began Kyou.

"Hold on for a moment," I interrupted. "As you know, I was absent this morning."

"You gave my sister a hard time covering up for you," said Kyou.

"I was somewhat wondering where you were too, Okazaki-kun, since you'd been coming to class on time lately," said Fujibayashi.

"The thing is, I had a very vivid dream last night that caused me to wake up at three in the morning. My sleeping schedule was thrown off track, but that's beside the point. The dream I had was exactly this play that Nagisa wanted to perform," I said seriously.

"So that's why you arrived pretty late earlier, Okazaki-san!" exclaimed Nagisa.

As I nodded, all of them listened intently, the look on my face was enough for them to know that I wasn't bullshitting them.

"In the dream, I was the robot that the girl built out of garbage and scrap metal to have as a companion. She said to me, '_Come here, you can walk now._' I complied, but I fell over. I kept falling over and over, and I did my best to reach her, such that when I finally did, she hugged me gently. I tried to talk to her, but she couldn't hear me, neither could I feel her warmth. That's when I woke up in cold sweat," I finished.

"Well that's definitely surreal Tomoya," said Kyou uncertainly.

"It must have felt weird, being in a body made of metal, unable to feel human warmth," commented Fujibayashi.

"That's exactly one of the scenes I was planning, Okazaki-san," said Nagisa calmly. "The girl built a robot and trained him to walk until he could do so on his own. Eventually, they began exploring the World That Never Was outside the shack, exploring the landscape and seeing a few forms of life that persisted after the end. Eventually, they'd build a flying machine and both of them would escape their eternal fates in that world. It's strange that you dreamt of the exact same scene I was planning…"

I took all that Nagisa said to heart, in the event that more dreams would happen involving me in the robot's place.

The bell suddenly rang, signaling the end of lunch break. We all moved to get up and fix our things for the afternoon classes, and as Nagisa, Fujibayashi, and Kyou were heading out the door with me in their wake, Kotomi sidled up beside me and tugged my sleeve lightly. I was thankful that Kyou, Fujibayashi, and Nagisa were all animatedly chatting about the play so I could actually appreciate a moment like this. Of course, I was trying my best not to hold Kotomi's hand, because of the promise I made to myself yesterday, the promise of analyzing these feelings I was harboring for her.

"What is it, Kotomi?" I asked her gently.

"Tomoya-kun… After school, could you come with me to the reference room down at the second floor? I was looking for a book in the library entitled _Digital Signal Processing: Principles, Algorithms, and Applications_[3] when the librarian told me it was moved to the reference room because no one ever borrowed it," said Kotomi breathlessly.

You lost me on the word "digital" Kotomi; I sincerely doubt that's a high-school level textbook.

"Ah sure, I'll accompany you," I said as we walked inconspicuously behind the three girls.

I knew of that room from my first year, as I used to take naps there when I felt like cutting class.

"I'm glad, Tomoya-kun," said Kotomi quietly as she began to hold onto my arm as we ascended the stairs towards the third-year classrooms.

She was crossing dangerous territory right there; if Kyou turned and saw this, a dictionary was bound to be flying right at my face in a split-second.

"Hey Kotomi," I whispered, "if you care for my safety, please don't hold onto me when Kyou's around."

"Okay," she said quietly as she reluctantly let go of me. "I'll see you later outside 3-A after class, Tomoya-kun."

She bid goodbye to me and the other three girls and soon enough, it was just me and Fujibayashi walking towards class 3-D.

/

The bell signaling the end of the final class period rang, and students began to file out of the classroom, talking about things like shows that would air later, homework to submit, projects to work on, and other related matters. Sunohara didn't show up all afternoon, so it was pretty boring here; boring enough for me to actually pay attention to our math teacher.

I made way for the door when suddenly, Fujibayashi called my name.

"Okazaki-kun! Wait!"

I turned to her and appraised her harried look as she approached me shyly. I didn't really mind, but I thought she could use more self-confidence as a person.

"What is it, Fujibayashi?" I inquired. "I'm in a hurry see."

"It will only be a moment, Okazaki-kun; there was something I wanted to ask you."

"I see. Fire away then," I said, as I leaned against the blackboard.

"I have an idea for a drama, but I'm not sure if it's feasible, and I'm not sure how to continue the plot. The story is about two sisters, one older, one younger. One day, the older sister met a guy in her school. He kept giving her trouble, but eventually, he grew onto her and she fell in love with him. The next year, however, the little sister became classmates with the guy. She saw how the guy was good underneath his troublesome and delinquent exterior, and she fell in love with him as well. She didn't know what to do in sorting her feelings, so she went to her older sister and told her about the situation. She knew she was being selfish as she did so, but she did anyway. Her older sister just told her '_Shhh. I'll take care of everything, alright? I'll make sure he falls in love with you too._'"

Why do I have a feeling something like this will turn out ugly and will be overflowing with angst before it gets resolved?

"So she hatched plans to get her little sister closer to the guy, but now the little sister feels guilty about doing this to her, for being selfish. And then, she thought, '_What if I did the same for my older sister?_'So the little sister thought that, but she realized that she had no experience, whatsoever in romance. She then decided ask her older sister why she decided to help her. After that part, I couldn't think of anything. Do you have any ideas, Okazaki-kun?"

"Well, if you were to ask me, I think the older sister in a way, used her younger sister. She decided to help the younger sister because she was running away from her own feelings. Perhaps she wasn't ready to confess to the guy, or maybe she didn't know how, or maybe she was scared, even. Regardless, I think that the older sister is just running away from something she has to confront head-on," I replied sagely. "If she doesn't confront the guy while the younger sister feels guilty, she will only cause pain for them both. That's because the younger sister will feel like she dragged her older sister down from facing the music and confessing to the guy what she truly felt. Then, no one is happy."

Fujibayashi took all this in silently, and after a short while she smiled at me and said,

"Thank you very much, Okazaki-kun."

Bowing, she left with what seemed to be a renewed heart of passion that left me scratching my head in wonder. With that, I left the classroom and headed for class 3-A.

/

"Could you at least tell me why you need this book, Kotomi?" I asked as we walked towards the reference room on the second floor.

"I was thinking about how amazing music could be in the mathematical sense. For example, did you know that the pluck of a guitar can be expressed in mathematical form as an output of a sinusoid using an algorithm called the Karplus-Strong[4] algorithm?" said Kotomi dreamily.

"I stopped parsing that after the word 'sinusoid', Kotomi. Though I'm really glad you're having fun learning, because that's something I could never do," I said.

"Don't think like that Tomoya-kun; did you not remember? I'm going to tutor you for entrance exams," said Kotomi happily.

Wait wait wait: when did _that_ happen! Kotomi, did you just decide that by yourself? Then again, that means alone time, so…

"Let's talk about that some other time Kotomi. I haven't even decided if I'm going to go to college or find a job. Well, with these terrible grades, I don't even know if a university would accept me," I said airily.

We arrived at the reference room and entered it.

"Excuse us," I called.

"Yes, who is it?" a girl's voice called back.

Before our eyes was a girl in an apron, cooking something at a gas-powered stove. She had long brown hair, soft-looking eyes, and she had a small _ahoge_ sticking up from her head. She had a bandanna on and- wait why is there a stove here?

"Excuse me, we're here to borrow a book entitled _Digital Signal Processing: Principles, Algorithms, and Applications_; we were directed here by the librarian," I said. "Kotomi, go on with her."

The brown-haired girl put her spatula down and said,

"Follow me, uh…?"

"My name is Kotomi Ichinose, a senior in class A. My hobby is reading books. I would be happy if you would be friends with me," said Kotomi, bowing as she did so.

The brown-haired girl smiled and said,

"My name is Yukine Miyazawa, a junior in class B. I would also be happy to be your friend. Nice to meet you. And you are—?" she asked, looking my way.

"I'm Tomoya Okazaki, from 3-D. Nice to meet you."

She bowed and Kotomi followed her to the bookshelves as they searched for Kotomi's textbook. I moved over to the gas-powered stove and examined the food that Miyazawa was cooking. Wow, this shrimp pilaf looks _and_ smells delicious. I wouldn't mind having some of that…

"Okazaki-san, would you like some of that pilaf to go along with coffee?" asked Miyazawa from behind me.

I jumped due to being surprised and brushed the end of the pan with my wrist. Said pan was on the gas-powered stove, frying the pilaf.

"**OUCH**! Damn, that hurts!" I yelped, reaching for the sink and dousing the burn in cold water.

"Okazaki-san, are you okay?" asked Miyazawa, immediately taking my hand and examining the wound. "Ah, it's just a minor burn, just douse it in running water here until the pain subsides."

"Tomoya-kun, are you okay?" said Kotomi, clutching a textbook that had to have _at least a thousand pages_.

I smiled at her while wincing as the running water cooled off the burn.

"I'll live, Kotomi. Oh Miyazawa, I'm fine now, thank you."

"I'm so sorry for startling you, Okazaki-san. Alright, as repayment, I'll serve this to you and Ichinose-san," said Miyazawa as she took two plates from the rack. "I'll just cook up a new batch later."

"Were you expecting visitors, Miyazawa?" I asked.

"Yes, but that's okay; this is the least I could do for you and Ichinose-san," replied Miyazawa, who placed two platefuls of shrimp pilaf and two cups of chocolate milk on the table. "Please sit and enjoy your meal," she said happily.

Kotomi and I complied and sat down uncertainly. Miyazawa sat down and smiled at us both, then Kotomi drew first blood and took the first mouthful of pilaf.

"It's delicious, Yukine-chan," said Kotomi.

Seeing this, I took a mouthful myself and marveled at how well Miyazawa could make such a simple dish taste so good.

"Mmm… I like how the bell pepper and onions complement each other perfectly, and the butter is just icing on the cake," I said. "This stuff is good, Miyazawa. You'd make a great wife."

Miyazawa blushed and said, "Thank you, Okazaki-san."

"Now, I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, but why do you have a stove, coffee-maker, dishes, utensils, a sink, and food supplies here?" I asked after a couple more spoonfuls of pilaf.

"The reference room was abandoned before I came here; it was nothing more than a place to stock books that no one ever read or borrowed," said Miyazawa. "I felt like taking over since I felt like this room could be put to better use, and I asked permission from the teachers. When they said I could do so, I immediately brought things in. It was my small wish to make this room be a place where people could rest, read, talk, eat, or just sleep."

"You're right; when I was a freshman I used to sleep in here when I felt like skipping class," I said.

"You're a good person, Okazaki-san," said Miyazawa.

"Well that came out of nowhere… What makes you say that?" I asked, consuming the final spoonful of pilaf on my plate, sipping some of my chocolate milk.

"Well you seem to be getting along well with Ichinose-san over there," said Miyazawa. "I've heard a lot about her, how she's really smart but has trouble with making friends. Could it be that she's your girlfriend, Okazaki-san?"

I spat out the chocolate milk in my mouth by accident and I looked at Miyazawa who was smiling at me.

"No, she's not my girlfriend in that way. We're just really good friends, right Kotomi?" I said, turning towards Kotomi.

Kotomi, who was taking a sip of chocolate milk after finishing her pilaf, said,

"I don't mind being Tomoya-kun's girlfriend if I get to spend time with him."

I headdesked and Miyazawa chuckled and said, smiling,

"Do your best, Okazaki-san. It's nice meeting you and Ichinose-san."

"Kotomi-chan. Please call me Kotomi-chan, Yukine-chan," interjected Kotomi.

"If that's what you want, Kotomi-chan," said Miyazawa. "If there's nothing more for me to do for you two, I'll get back to cooking another batch of shrimp pilaf."

"Thanks for everything, Miyazawa. We'll be leaving now," I said, as Kotomi and I stood up and left.

/

Kotomi and I walked towards the intersection where we usually split up as the sun was setting in the night sky.

"Say, Kotomi, about what you said earlier to Miyazawa…" I began, unsure how to continue what was on my mind. "Did you really mean it? What you told Miyazawa earlier? About not minding being my girlfriend?"

Kotomi put a finger to her lips and thought for a moment before she replied,

"Yes. I enjoy spending time with you very much Tomoya-kun. I feel like the closer we become now, the more we can make up for lost time. You're also introducing me to more and more people, people who are now my friends as well. I'm really happy that I met you again."

We reached the intersection as the sun's final rays of light were obscured by clouds; twilight was upon the town of Hikarizaka.

I raised a finger and said,

"But Kotomi, do you realize what being someone's girlfriend means? Being in a relationship with someone… That means that you'll be tied to this person for as long as you love them."

"And… to be honest…," I continued in a more serious tone, "I don't mind being your boyfriend either… I just think that right now, I'm not really sure of these… unfamiliar feelings that are surging through me."

I coughed and continued while she looked at me curiously, appraising my face and features against the sakura trees behind me.

"Kotomi, please give me time to think and to consider everything, because right now, I don't think I'm worthy of being your partner. As your friend, I feel okay and will continue to be your friend no matter what, but being your boyfriend is different. I've got Pops to worry about too, and I don't want him to hurt you. If it's okay, please accept my being selfish… Please wait for me to sort everything out, because when the time comes, I don't want to disappoint you," I said seriously.

Kotomi just smiled at me and said happily,

"Knowing that is good enough for me, Tomoya-kun. You made me really happy just now. Besides… I've waited ten years for you. Waiting for just a short while more wouldn't hurt at all."

Kotomi closed her eyes and smiled at me. At that very moment, I was absolutely certain that I loved this girl with all my heart. I just need to get all the skeletons out of my closet before I can do anything. Kotomi reached for my hand and held it to her chest. Wait, what are you doing!

"Tomoya-kun… I'm really glad I met you," whispered Kotomi softly, looking at me in the eyes.

I blushed and replied,

"Me too, Kotomi. Me too."

After a while, she let go and said,

"I should go home now and make dinner. Bye-bye, Tomoya-kun. See you tomorrow."

"See you, Kotomi," I said smoothly as I turned and left for the house a very happy man.

/

_When I opened my eyes, there she was again. The girl in a world that had ended. She was gesturing to me, her arms stretched towards me outside the shack while I stood inside the doorway._

"_Come here, I know you can do it. When you learn how to walk, we can explore the rest of this world."_

_What am I doing here? She built me, right? I walked at an awkward gait due to my rusty legs, and eventually, I reached her._

"_That's good; it really is good," said the girl. "Now we can explore the rest of this world."_

_We walked for a short distance, and saw some sheep, a mother-daughter pair. They were grazing, eating grass, and the mother was clearing a space for the young sheep to lay. The young sheep walked towards me, and the girl said,_

"_Why don't you pat her? She's a good friend of mine."_

_I complied and my rusty arms pet the sheep as gently as I could. Suddenly, the sheep stepped back and it began to glow white. The sheep continued to glow for a while, when her form suddenly materialized into a girl. She had long hair and was wearing a cone shaped hat. Her clothing was a cream coloured blouse with skirt and black stockings. She was holding a star shaped object in her hands as she approached the girl and she began to whisper in her ear. After a while, the girl in white came to me and said,_

"_We don't have a lot of time, it seems. It wasn't meant to be in your world, but in mine. Still, I don't want a person that I loved so much to experience so much pain, suffering, and guilt, no matter what world she's in."_

_The girl put her hand on my head as the other girl holding the star-shaped object watched._

"_Remember your true form. Remember your true form before your memories were changed. Remember who you were… Tomoya."_

_Tomoya? That name sounded familiar to me. Suddenly, light began to shine in my eyes and my body began to glow. That name… is mine._

_/_

_When I came to, I was no longer a garbage robot. I was myself, Tomoya Okazaki, in what appeared to be my dream. However, I felt as if a part of me was dislodged, the part that was suppressing my true memory was gone in this dream. I turned to the girl in white and asked,_

"_Is this still a dream?"_

_The girl looked at me with a smile on her face and replied,_

"_Something like that, Papa."_

"_Papa?" I raised my eyebrow._

"_Yes. I am Ushio Okazaki, your daughter from another universe."_

_/_

_[1] – Club President._

_[2] – A paper fan used by the tsukkomi in manzai stand-up comedy._

_[3] – Digital Signal Processing: Principles, Algorithms, and Applications by John G. Proakis. This is one of my textbooks right now._

_[4] – Google "Karplus-Strong string synthesis"._

_So I was able to plug Yukine in. Yay! Finally, we get to the good stuff of Nagisa's arc. Tomoya meets Ushio in the Illusionary World. How will this affect everything? Tune in next time to find out!_

_Read and review please! :D_


	11. Parallel Days

_Hi guys! Here's another chapter for ya'll, and by far it was the most difficult to write. Try to read this one slowly because you might get confused; I'm trying to pull something very confusing off here._

_Nearly the entirety of this chapter will be in italics because it takes place within Tomoya's dream._

_The usual disclaimers: Clannad is owned by Key Visual Arts._

_/_

**Parallel Days**[1]

_I was sitting on the grass of the wheat field in my dream, staring at the girl who stood before me. The clouds were rolling across the sky hastily, giving the illusion of wind in this world that had ended. I was aghast at the statement she had made to me just now._

"_I didn't seem to hear you right. You said I was your… Papa?" I asked dumbly, scratching my head in confusion._

"_Yes," replied the girl in white with a warm smile. "You're my Papa from another universe, a universe where you married my Mama, Nagisa Furukawa."_

_What. Me and Nagisa… Hold on, I remembered what Fujibayashi had told me when I walked her home:_

"It's a pity I don't get it right, but I think it's better than I'm wrong more often than right," said Fujibayashi.

"But why would you want that?" I asked in confusion. "Doesn't that defeat the purpose of actually telling fortunes?"

"If the prediction comes true, then it's as if there's only one future. If it fails, we can safely think that many other futures and possibilities exist. It's like the spawn of a multiverse, but I think someone like Kotomi-chan can explain that kind of concept much better than I do."

"So it's like viewing the millions of possibilities that could happen without restricting yourself to one future because of an accurate fortune?" I asked.

"Yes. We never know how the future shifts because of the slightest change in events. I choose to believe that there are many possibilities awaiting our futures, and not just one predetermined path," she replied, standing up.

_Yes… This is exactly what she was talking about. Hundreds, thousands, endless alternate universes existing due to the different decisions and experiences we all undergo, from which they branch off into their own reality._

"_If you're confused Papa, Ryou-obaa-san loved to tell fortunes… I assume she does so in your world? Anyway, she told me once that I should face the future spontaneously, always doing my best, in the same way my sensei in kindergarten always used to tell me. She always told me that it was better that she was mostly wrong in her fortunes, because if she were always right, then the future would always be fixed. I wasn't really surprised, since Kyou-obaa-san and Ryou-obaa-san are still sisters after all," said the girl. "Think of it that way, and believe that there is a world where you and Mama became husband and wife."_

_That's what I thought of as well. Perhaps all the times I had been musing about Nagisa were part of this other reality. Obviously, in the other world she had come from, she was aware of events yet to occur in the lifetime of me and my friends. I was curious, so I decided to ask a few questions._

"_So that means in your world, Kyou is your kindergarten sensei?" I asked._

"_Yes, Papa. Kyou-obaa-san was one of the best teachers I ever had. She taught me a saying: _Carpe Diem_, which means 'Seize the day'. Seize the day without thinking of what lies ahead. Live your life spontaneously to the fullest was what she said," said the girl._

_I was confused. If she knew of future events in that universe, then what was she doing here?_

"_I can hear some of your thoughts, Papa," giggled the girl._

"_Hey, give me some privacy!" I exclaimed, but after a while, I cracked up too. "So your name is Ushio, right? Hmm, I can imagine if I was married to Nagisa: from a bay to the tide…[2]"_

_I coughed and continued,_

"_So Ushio, why are you here then? Why are you here in my dreams? Why am I a doll made of trash in this world? What is the meaning of this? In my world, Nagisa wants to perform a play that is identical to this. Why is that?"_

_Ushio looked at me gently and replied,_

"_I'm like the entire existence of Ushio. In a way, I am both Ushio and not Ushio at the same time, in this form. No matter the probability of Papa and Mama becoming husband and wife, whether or not it happens, I exist. I am linked to all the Ushios in universes that you and Mama became husband and wife. There was one world where Mama died when she gave birth to me... and then five years after that we both died, and that was the first time I regained my memories as Ushio living under your care, Papa, in that crucial first world."_

"_Wait just a moment," I said, shocked. "Nagisa, you and me… died? But why would she die giving birth to you in the first place?"_

_Ushio appraised me lightly and said gently,_

"_It seems Papa, that you don't know that Mama has a weak body. I'm sure Akki will tell you about it soon, but for now, just accept that Mama had a weak body and that she died giving birth to me in that first world."_

_I scratched my head in confusion._

"_Akki? Who on earth is that?"_

"_Mama's Papa, Akio. Sanae-san's husband."_

_Oh, so it was the old man. I didn't think he'd be the type who'd love children, given the way he was practically offering Nagisa to me, albeit jokingly._

"_You seem to be really close to Nagisa's parents huh," I commented, playing idly with a blade of grass using my fingers._

_Ushio sat down beside me and stretched her legs. She pulled a dandelion from amongst the wheat and barley and blew the seeds away. We both momentarily watched as the seeds flew into the sky, the wind carrying them along in its wake._

"_That's because after Mama died, you left me with Akki and Sanae-san for five years," said Ushio sadly._

_I looked at her in shock. It couldn't be. Why would I abandon my own daughter just like that? Why would I do such a thing; giving up on my own offspring, the way my own father gave up on me? I decided to think of the circumstances. First, I replaced Nagisa with Kotomi in my mind. What if Kotomi died bearing our child? Why would I abandon our child?_

_Just like that, it hit me: The feeling of regret. The Tomoya in that other world must have thought, "_It might have been better if I never met Nagisa, fell in love with her, married her, and had a child with her._" Seeing Ushio would have been too painful for the Tomoya of that world. Thus, he left her with his wife's parents, the Furukawas._

_I looked sadly at Ushio and said, "Sorry, Ushio. On behalf of myself in that world, I'm very sorry. I became exactly what I didn't want to become; my father."_

_I bowed my head, intending to let my forehead touch the grass when I felt a hand on my shoulder._

"_Papa, please don't bow to me. I never got angry for what had happened, believe me," said Ushio. "In the worlds that that happened, I never once resented you for doing that. So please, don't bow to me."_

_Ushio hugged me and I hugged her back, feeling the regret for my other self coursing through my very being._

"_Papa… Maybe I should show you what happened, so you can understand more," said Ushio, as the world faded to white with her in my embrace._

_/_

_I suddenly found myself and Ushio in another place. We were no longer in the wheat and barley field of my dreams; instead, we found ourselves in the Drama Clubroom in the late afternoon. Ushio and I stood watching two other people in the room: Nagisa and myself._

"_Payback, Okazaki-san" said Nagisa happily as she scrawled something on the blackboard using a piece of broken chalk._

"_Hey Ushio, they can't see us, right?" I asked as the other me stared at Nagisa._

"_Yup, Papa," said Ushio._

"_Remember I told you yesterday I wanted to talk to you about something, Nagisa," said the other Tomoya, not facing Nagisa's eyes as he spoke. His voice was cracking somewhat, and it became blindingly obvious to me what he was about to do._

"_Yup. What was it, Okazaki-san?" asked Nagisa._

"_I, umm… Wouldn't it be interesting if we woke up tomorrow as lovers…?" trailed the other Tomoya off into silence. _

"_Huh?" asked Nagisa, tilting her head in confusion, not understanding the other me's half-assed confession._

_However, he turned to face Nagisa and spoke in a stronger, surer voice._

"_I love you Nagisa. Please go out with me."_

_Nagisa stared at him, then suddenly, she broke into a wide smile, the tears beginning to run down her face. She put her hands over her mouth as the other Tomoya began to speak._

"_I want you to always be by my side, Nagisa," said the other me with conviction._

"_Yes, Okazaki-san," replied Nagisa as they met and hugged each other in their mirth._

"_And so that was how you and Mama became lovers," said Ushio._

"_How do you know this Ushio?" I asked her; confused that she knew of events that happened years before her birth._

"_This me, this entity as the Girl in the Illusionary World, or the World That Never Was, is a dimensional slider[3]," replied Ushio shortly. "I am able to slide through dimensions, and that is how I was able to contact you through your dreams, Papa."_

"_I see," I replied as I nodded, trying to ignore Nagisa and my other self as the sunlight poured through the room as though in celebration of what we had just witnessed._

"_And now Papa, the next thing I have to show you… is how Mama died," said Ushio in a small voice. "It's not easy for me to watch, but I need you to understand just how weak her body is."_

"_No Ushio," I said, gesturing at her with my hand. "I don't want to see that. I don't want to see Nagisa die. I'll take your word for it, okay?"_

_Ushio nodded and said,_

"_Thank you Papa. It pains me to see Mama die from giving birth to me, because I see it as my fault."_

"_It's not your fault Ushio. It was no one's fault, alright?" I said soothingly as I pet her while Ushio pouted, picking up a piece of chalk from the floor._

_Ushio smiled and said,_

"_Thank you, Papa. You really are a nice person… That's why in that first world, you were able to help Mama become strong, because she was weakly and indecisively standing at the bottom of the hill going to school. In that first world, you fell in love with Mama; dated and married her. And then you both had me. However, I understand that Papa is just human. I'll show you what happened on the first time you and I went out alone…"_

_Bright lights glowed in the classroom, eclipsing the strength of the sun that was sinking in the sky whose rays was flowing warmly into the classroom, and my vision glowed pure white._

_/_

_Ushio and I watched a montage of what the Tomoya of that first world had done in the five years since Nagisa's death. Nagisa's funeral was held, which showed the attendance of Kotomi, Kyou, Fujibayashi, Miyazawa, Tomoyo, the dorm mother Misae, Koumura, Sunohara, a small girl who seemed to be his sister, Kouko, Yusuke, two girls who attended our school who I didn't recognize[4], and of course, me and the Furukawas. That very day, the other Tomoya left Ushio with Sanae-san and the old man and he proceeded to live alone in a small apartment (I assumed my other self and Nagisa lived there before all of this happened). He ripped Ushio's and Nagisa's names from the board that showed the names of the people who lived in the apartment. He buried himself in work, trying to push Nagisa out of his mind. He snubbed Ushio's entry into kindergarten, presumably under Kyou's care, and he snubbed Shichi-Go-San Day[5] when Ushio turned three years old. The other Tomoya turned to drinking in bars, gambling at the slot machines, and smoking._

_I continued to look aghast at the thing my other self did to remove all traces of Nagisa from his mind. I turned to Ushio who looked at me sadly._

"_He neglected you for five years doing this shit? He… I turned into my father…," I said softly. "On behalf of him, I'm sorry, Ushio."_

"_It's okay Papa. Things got better when you and I went on a trip thanks to Sanae-san when I was five years old in that world," replied Ushio, her face brightening up. "Let me show you…"_

_Once again, my vision was engulfed by the brightness of the lights, until I could see nothing but white._

_/_

"_Tomoya-san, let's go on a trip. Me, Akio-san, Ushio and you,_" _said Sanae-san while she sat across my other self in the apartment._

"_Let me think about it Sanae-san," replied Tomoya, obviously thinking about how uncomfortable it would be to see his own daughter._

"_Alright then Tomoya-san. I hope to see you on Thursday next week," said Sanae-san._

_But Sanae-san was persistent; while the other Tomoya showed indecisiveness about the trip, she repeatedly phoned him over and over until he caved in._

_That Thursday, Ushio and I watched my other self show up at Furukawa Bread. Sanae-san and the old man were nowhere to be found. I noticed a note on the table before my other self did which said,_

"Tomoya-san, Akio-san and I had to leave to attend to something urgent. I'll leave the rest to you, okay? – Sanae-san."

_Attached to the letter were two train tickets and I instantly knew that Sanae-san set my other self up. I should keep an eye on her in my own world… though then again maybe not since Nagisa and I weren't meant to be in my world. Suddenly, the other Ushio appeared. She was wearing a blue uniform, which was probably her kindergarten school uniform, and she had a backpack and nice hat._

"_Hey Ushio, you look really cute," I said to Ushio, chuckling. "I was such an idiot for neglecting such a cute girl like you."_

"_Papa… You're embarrassing me," replied Ushio, blushing._

_The two of us watched my other self treat the other Ushio indifferently. The entire day proceeded uneventfully, and both of them slept._

"_Let's move on to tomorrow, shall we, Papa," said Ushio, summoning the bright lights once again._

_Tomorrow came and we saw the two of them just as they were waking up._

"_Sanae-san and the old-man aren't back yet huh…" said my other self. "Hey Ushio, want to go on a trip?"_

"_Yup!" said the other Ushio, nodding vigorously._

"_But it's only going to be me. Are you really okay with that?" my other self asked her._

"_I want to go on a trip," said the other Ushio._

"_Well, okay then," said the other Tomoya, taking two train tickets out. "Let's go on a trip, Ushio."_

"_Yup!" said the other Ushio, nodding excitedly._

"_I think we should fast-forward to the train, Papa. Something somewhat important happened there. It's kind of embarrassing, but I think you should see it," said Ushio who was standing beside me._

"_Alright, do your stuff Ushio," I said, as the bright lights covered my vision once again._

_/_

_Apparently, the place they were going to was the end of the rail line, so it was a pretty long trip. However, it was summer, so there were families taking the train as well for their excursions. Ushio and I sat in two unoccupied seats about 2 rows in front of my other self and the other Ushio, when the commotion began to occur._

"_Hey Mama, play with me," whined a boy across the aisle._

"_Hush, be quiet, you're disturbing the other passengers," said the mother to her child. However, the child didn't stop, and I was shocked to hear my other self explode at them._

"_SHUT UP! Be considerate of others, will you!" snapped the other Tomoya at the mother-and-son tandem. The boy cowered in his mother's arms, while the mother replied gently and somberly,_

"_Yes. We're very sorry for disturbing you."_

_I looked at my other self and noticed the other Ushio running down the aisle. It was a while before my other self caught on and stood up to search for her._

"_What was that all about?" I asked Ushio who sat beside me wearing a neutral look on her face._

"_I don't know Papa, but you were _really _scary back there. I remember when I experienced that first hand… That's why you probably saw my other self run off. She ran to the bathroom to cry," replied Ushio._

"_Wow, you're pretty disciplined. Crying in a private place at the age of five… I'm proud to have a daughter like you, even if it's in another universe," I said brightly._

"_Thank you Papa, but it was because Sanae-san told me that I could only cry in the bathroom," replied Ushio._

"_I see," I replied, turning in my seat as the two of them came walking down the aisle, shuffling into their seats._

"_We had a stop-over for the night, Papa. You bought me a small robot to entertain myself with, and that night at the inn, I asked you to tell me about Mama," said Ushio quietly, not looking at me._

_I stretched my arms and replied, "I bet I didn't tell you anything."_

"_Yes," replied Ushio. "You told me to ask Sanae-san and to tell her that you refused to tell me."_

_My other self really took Nagisa's death hard. I would probably feel the same if the same thing happened to Kotomi. I swear I'll protect her and nothing would happen to her as long as she was by my side._

"_Wow Papa, your devotion to Kotomi-obaa-san is like your devotion to Mama. No matter what world or universe, you are really a good person," said Ushio turning to me with a smile on her face._

_You heard that! How embarrassing… Now you've got my face heating up…_

"_So we finally reached the end of the line," began Ushio, as for the fifth time my vision was obscured with pure whiteness._

_/_

_It was a field of yellow flowers. I saw my other self sitting under a tree, and the other Ushio frolicking in the field playing with the robot in her hands._

"_Papa, did you know that oji-san[6] was a good father to you?" asked Ushio._

_I did a double take and looked at Ushio incredulously while we stood side-by-side at the other side of the same tree where my other self was quaintly watching over the other Ushio in the field._

"_Pops? As in my dad? No way; I refuse to believe that. He abandoned his duty as a father, he ruined my varsity basketball career when he dislocated my right shoulder. How is he a good father?" I asked Ushio._

"_That was what you were thinking of right now at this very moment. I think it'd be much better if you could see this from the point of view of your other self, Papa. Don't worry about me; I'll just be right here," said Ushio as she gathered a ball of light and gently pushed it into my chest._

_My vision faded momentarily, and when I regained my eyesight, I was seeing the world from the other Tomoya's eyes. Unable to control my body since the other Tomoya was in charge, I just decided to take it easy and to view things from his point of view, as Ushio had suggested._

_I felt a faint memory stir in my head when I viewed the field of yellow flowers that Ushio was playing in. A small boy and a man, walking off to do their best together… no it can't be, can it?_

_I stood up, though not of my own accord, but of my other self's, and he began to walk down the dirt path that led to a cape. Standing there was an old woman, who seemed to be waiting for someone. A bright light appeared in my vision, and when my vision returned from temporary blindness, I was standing beside Ushio once more, this time watching my other self and the woman looking at each other, appraising the other's appearance. Ushio and I sat down on the bench the woman was sitting on, and we continued to watch them both._

"_Are you… Tomoya Okazaki-san?" asked the old woman,_

"_Yes I am. Do you know of me?" replied my other self as his short hair billowed in the wind coming in from the sea._

"_Yes. I am your grandmother, Shino Okazaki," replied the woman._

"_She's my grandmother? My dad's mother?" I asked Ushio, turning to her in confusion._

"_Yes," replied Ushio. "Listen to them both, Papa."_

"_Is Naoyuki still atoning for his sin?" asked Shino of my other self._

"_He should be at home now; it's been five years since he was arrested for dabbling with drugs," replied my other self._

_Pops, get into drugs? I have to prevent this from happening in my world._

"_That's exactly what I want you to do Papa. To prevent that from happening in your world, and to reconcile with him, because I love oji-san," said Ushio._

"_Your father dropped out of high-school to marry Atsuko-san, your mother. Everyone was against them, but Naoyuki wanted to do his best to protect and support the one he loved," continued Shino. "However, when your mother died from that accident… it was an event your father considered to be too sad to recover from. I heard from Furukawa-san that you were in a similar situation right now."_

"_Yes," my other self replied._

"_He knew though, that he had to raise you. So one day, he took you and left this place for the city. He worked hard to raise enough money for the two of you, for your daily needs, your education, everything. He was offered high-paying positions multiple times, but he always declined because he had to take care of you. Eventually, the stress from working as a day-to-day salaryman got the better of him, and he turned to alcohol to ease himself."_

"_Are you serious…" I mumbled to Ushio. "Pops turned down a successful career to raise me?"_

"_Yes Papa. That's how much he loved you," said Ushio._

"_All the times he came home drunk… that was due to stress. The time he snapped on me and dislocated my shoulder… that was due to stress. I don't believe it. I was wrong all this time," I said in a defeated tone. "He sacrificed his own welfare to better mine. The only reason he did those things was because he was human. I've been such an ungrateful son then…"_

"_I'm an even worse person than my father," said my other self in a voice full of self-loathing._

"_You still have an opportunity, Tomoya-san," said Shino. "I would like to see your child, if that's possible."_

"_Follow me, obaa-chan. She's playing in the field where I left her," said my other self._

"_We should follow them," said Ushio. "The next thing that will happen… You made me the happiest girl in the whole world, Papa."_

_We both followed them until we arrived back at the field of yellow flowers where the other Ushio was playing and running. However now, she seemed to be searching for something among the flowers._

"_That's my daughter, Ushio," said the other Tomoya, pointing at Ushio, who noticed his arrival._

_The other Tomoya left Shino's side and went to the other Ushio, who did likewise. With a sad face and tone, the other Ushio spoke,_

"_I lost it."_

"_Lost what?" replied the other Tomoya in a gentle voice, kneeling in front of her._

"_Robot."_

"_Well, it's impossible to find it now in a field as big as this," replied my other self, scratching his head._

"_It was the first," said the other Ushio, beginning to cry._

"_Huh," said the other Tomoya, bemused._

"_It was the first thing… from Papa," said the other Ushio._

"_Hey Ushio… If you want to… from now on, I want to live with you," said the other Tomoya uncertainly. "Do you want to live with me from now on Ushio?"_

"_Yes," nodded Ushio. "Papa… Is it okay if I can't hold it in anymore?"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Sanae-san told me… there's two places you can cry in," said the other Ushio, clearly fighting back tears. "One is the bathroom… and the other place is in… Papa's arms."_

_The two of them hugged, and both of them began to cry._

"_Ushio… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, for all these years… I've been a bad Papa. Will you forgive me?" sputtered my other self, tears streaming down his cheeks._

"_Yup," managed the other Ushio, embracing her father tightly._

"_Ah, so that is why you felt like the happiest girl in the whole world," I said to Ushio, wiping a tear from my eye. "Your bastard of a father who abandoned you for five years saw the error of his ways and you began to live with him again after this."_

"_Papa, you don't have to badmouth yourself like that," pouted Ushio._

"_It's me; I can badmouth myself all I want," I chuckled._

_Ushio laughed and said,_

"_You are the best Papa in the whole world. Believe me when I say that."_

"_By the way Ushio… You've shown me enough proof now, and I know what to do about Pops now. Since I don't want to see myself and you die, thanks for everything, Ushio. But I still haven't asked you; why are you doing this? Why are you appearing in my dreams in the manner of the play that we want to do?"_

"_Because in your world… Mama is weaker than usual. She will discover a secret that Sanae-san and Akki had been keeping from her for a long time now," said Ushio._

"_And what secret would that be?" I asked, curious._

"_Sanae-san used to be a middle school teacher, and Akki used to be an actor. When Mama nearly died at the age of five, they both quit their professions and opened the bakery," replied Ushio._

_I sputtered and looked at her in incredulity,_

"_Nagisa nearly died when she was five! Why? How?"_

"_I think… it's better if Akki himself told you about this story, Papa. But you must know this; in your world, since Mama is weaker, it would be very dangerous for her to discover the secret that Akki and Sanae-san have been keeping from her. She could become catatonic from the shock," said Ushio. "Therefore, what you have to do is to prevent Mama from coming across pictures and mementos of Akki and Sanae-san's past careers. I remember them showing me photo albums of Akki as a young actor, so you need to hide those albums from Mama at all costs."_

"_Alright, Ushio. Thank you for everything… I can't really say if this was because of my other self and Nagisa… wait a moment. If Nagisa died in that crucial first world… You said you regained your memories after you died. What happened after that?"_

"_Just like the play you want to do with Mama, I, as the girl, and you, as the robot escaped the World That Never Was. Thanks to Fuko-nee-chan, I regained my memories and I was able to send you back in time in the crucial first world, equipped with a miracle of sorts. Mama survived and that is the continuity where I came from," replied Ushio._

"_Wait… Fuko-nee-chan? You knew Fuko? She woke up in the future?" I asked breathlessly._

"_Yes she did. She was also the sheep who told me about Mama's condition in your world; that she could enter a deep state of shock upon discovering Sanae-san and Akki's secret. As a result, she told me to show you all of this in your dreams, to prevent that from happening. Just like me, she is also a slider however, she could only do so much, as in your world, she's still sleeping, and she's very thankful of everything you have done for her, Papa."_

"_I see. I'll keep all of this in mind, I promise. I will save Nagisa, so you don't worry Ushio, alright?" I said, reassuring her._

"_I trust in you, Papa," said Ushio, sitting down in the field while I knelt to her level._

"_Just like our other selves huh… Wait, will I see you again?" I asked._

"_Maybe, just maybe, Papa," replied Ushio. "And now, it's time for you to end this long dream…"_

_/_

I woke up with a start in my own bed. I turned to check the clock. It read 6 am. Just in time for school huh…

As I got ready to take a shower, I thought about everything I was shown by Ushio in my dream. It seems like I had a mission to do; prevent Nagisa from finding out about her parents past careers. I needed to take the Drama Club to the Furukawa household if I planned to interfere.

It's going to be a long day ahead…

/

_[1] – For some reason I thought of the title of one of __**Haruhi Suzumiya's**_ _character songs when I was thinking of the main plot of Nagisa's arc, so there… :)_

_[2] – "Nagisa" means "bay", while "Ushio" means "tide"._

_[3] - Also, in the universe of my fanfic, both Fuko and Ushio are dimensional sliders, as per the Haruhi definition._

_[4] – Sugisaka and Rie Nishina, the two Choir Club members._

_[5] – Shichi-go-san (Seven-Five-Three) Day is a festival day in Japan for three/seven year old girls and three/five year old boys annually held on the fifteenth of November._

_[6] – Oji-san in this context refers to Tomoya's dad Naoyuki._

_It was my intention from the very beginning to let Tomoya find out about his father in this manner._

_When Ushio talks about the crucial first world, she means the anime continuity's True End, where Tomoya got sent back in time to save Nagisa with the Light Orbs, not the Visual Novel's True End, where the True End happens in another universe (read as: playthrough) altogether._

_Basically, Ushio showed Tomoya the events of After Story to prove that she really is his daughter, albeit from another universe._


	12. Averting Her Eyes, Part I

_Sorry for the delay; I had difficulty planning this chapter out, and I played through five routes in the original __**Da Capo **__Visual Novel (Kotori, Moe, Mako, Sakura, and Nemu) so that consumed quite a lot of time._

_The usual disclaimers, yada yada. :D_

_/_

**Averting Her Eyes, Part I**

As I slowly walked up the hill going to Hikarizaka Private High, I was deep in my thoughts of the plan I had to execute. For Nagisa's safety, I had to somehow convince Sanae-san and the old man to properly hide the albums from Nagisa, or, if worst comes to worst, dispose of them. The problem was:

How am I supposed to tell the old man and Sanae-san that I knew about their past careers?

Immediately, I thought of casually and subtly interrogating Nagisa about her parents' past. If she says anything, I could probably use that to argue my case with her parents, who probably don't know how dangerous it might be for Nagisa to discover the secret they had been so carefully guarding from her for the past thirteen years.

On a whim, I opened my briefcase, perusing its contents. It had nearly nothing inside, save for a used notebook, a ballpoint pen, and my atrocious English exam that was returned around two months ago. I have to get my act together, for both my sake and Kotomi's. Whereas before, Sunohara provided me with motivation to go to school, Kotomi now provided me with the motivation to do better. If I wanted to be with her, I couldn't be the weak link, the person that would hold her back from whatever she wanted to achieve.

Turning my attention back to the matter of the Furukawas' secret, I pushed my thoughts about my academics to the rear end of my mind, making a mental note to at least be more attentive in class. The sakura trees were still in bloom despite the fact that May was nearing its end; I couldn't help but wonder why that was so. I mean, it's not like Hatsune Island[1], where the sakura trees bloom all year round. I thought back to Tomoyo's mission to save the sakura trees, a mission that I helped her accomplish in part by getting her elected as the _seitokaichou_.

I entered the gate as the bell for first period rang and my thoughts went back to Tomoyo. Since the time she confessed to me, I hadn't seen her at all. I expected something like that; after all, I did reject her. Hopefully, she would get over it in due course and we could go back to being good friends. She did say that she still wanted to remain friends with me, but if not, then it's a loss I probably can't take back, since I'm not good at those kinds of things.

My thoughts then turned to one Ryou Fujibayashi. For some time now, I noticed that she had been at least slightly interested with me; she was even more of a shrinking violet than usual when she was talking with me.

"Jeez," I muttered softly as I opened the 3-D classroom door and proceeded calmly to my seat. "What the hell do these girls see in me anyway?"

I looked at the empty seat to my right and thought of its owner. Sunohara would be pretty pissed if he heard my comment just now. I chuckled at the idea when I was approached by none other than Fujibayashi.

"G-Good morning, Okazaki-kun. I'm g-glad to see you here on time," said Fujibayashi, her cheeks tinged with red.

Especially this one, oh boy… What in the hell does she see in me? She sees her older sister beat up on me all the time. It doesn't make sense in the slightest to me.

"Aaaarghhh!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up into the air in frustration. Fujibayashi flinched, and timidly asked,

"What's wrong, Okazaki-kun?"

"Eh? Ah, nothing, nothing at all," I said, smiling at her. "We need to talk about our location for practicing later at lunch in the clubroom. I'd like it very much if we could do it in Nagisa's house after school, so that our actress is more comfortable with practicing by being in a more familiar and comfortable place, don't you think?"

"That's a good idea Okazaki-kun," said Fujibayashi lightly. "We should confer with Nagisa-chan later, and see what she thinks."

"Alright, it's time for Trigonometry," said the teacher, who had just entered, putting his lesson plan down on the table with an audible thud.

"I'll talk to you later, Okazaki-kun," said Fujibayashi as she turned away and proceeded meekly to her seat.

/

Fourth period arrived and halfway through it, so did Sunohara. He looked at me with amusement on his face when he actually saw that I had some notes written down in relation to the lesson at hand.

"Turning over a new leaf, eh Okazaki?" whispered Sunohara as he sat down in his seat, ignoring the teacher who had stopped talking due to his unceremonious arrival in the classroom.

"Something like that, yeah," I said absentmindedly, writing down a note that explained the basics of mitosis occurring in _Paramecium sp._

The teacher looked at Sunohara pointedly but gave up, and she resumed teaching the Biology lesson with a note of irritation in her voice.

"By the way, about helping you guys and Nagisa-chan, I was serious," said Sunohara. "I'll let the fact that she rejected me slide. I'll continue assisting you guys if you need me."

"We don't need you," I said airily while Sunohara planted his face on his desk.

"Don't discount my efforts just like that Okazaki!" exclaimed Sunohara in the loudest whisper he could muster without disrupting the class. "I'm serious. I know how it feels like to not have friends. I could tell that before you met Nagisa-chan, she was all alone and she didn't have friends. I easily found out that she was repeating a year and that she was basically a loner in her class."

"Are you turning over a new leaf, Sunohara?" I asked incredulously.

"Not really; I'm only following a proverb I heard from that anime about sending people to hell using that website[2]: _'If you're nice to someone, you aren't the lowest form of life around.'_"

"Sure, sure," I said absentmindedly while I wrote down a note about _Volvox._ "I'm planning to have our practices at Nagisa's house. She should feel more comfortable here and Fujibayashi agreed that it was a good idea. What do you think? Sunohara?"

I turned to him once more and just like that, he was already dozing off.

"Idiot… He's only got fifteen more minutes to sleep before the lunch bell rings. Oh well, fifteen minutes of sleep is still better than zero minutes of sleep," I muttered to myself.

/

"Youhei…" snarled Kyou with venom in her voice, her right hand balled into a fist. "You only wanted to help Nagisa for bread! What kind of immature idiot are you! You're the lowest form of life in the _universe!_"

"Butbutbut Okazaki was the one who told me that Nagisa-chan's father gives free bread to people who're nice to her," whimpered Sunohara as he quailed under Kyou's gaze that seemed like it could rip through concrete.

"But Dad doesn't give people bread for being nice to me…" mused Nagisa audibly.

"Even if that idiot Tomoya tricked you—" said Kyou, looking at me dangerously, "—you still agreed to do so for the bread!"

"Don't look at me that way Kyou," I said disdainfully, munching on some _tonkatsu_ bread that I purchased from the cafeteria.

"Tomoya-kun, would you like some of my _takoyaki?_" asked Kotomi who was seated beside me to my pleasure.

"Thanks," I said, using my other hand to pluck a piece of _takoyaki_ from Kotomi's bento, shoving it into my mouth whole. "Wow, this is delicious. You make good lunches, Kotomi."

Kyou had turned away from Sunohara and instead was looking at me and Kotomi with a look that seemed to mix curiosity and skepticism.

"Would you like me to make you lunch for tomorrow, Tomoya-kun?" asked Kotomi.

Kyou suddenly leaned towards her twin sister and she began feverishly whispering into her ear. Sunohara looked immensely relieved from having Kyou's attention taken away from him, while Nagisa just continued to munch cutely at a piece of _anpan_.

"Sure, if it isn't too much trouble, Kotomi," I said to her in reply. "Thanks for the offer; I appreciate it."

"I'm happy, Tomoya-kun," said Kotomi with a smile on her face.

It was as if my confession to her yesterday didn't happen. I don't think she had forgotten or pretended that it never happened though; she _did_ say she was willing to wait for me to sort out my issues. I can deal with Pops when this whole play is over and done with, since I felt that confronting him now and apologizing to him for being a shitty son would have too much of an emotional toll on me. As for my studies, she said that she would tutor me for the entrance examinations this winter, but I felt that I had to make an effort myself so that I wouldn't rely solely on her. After all, the gods only help those who help themselves.

"So anyway," I coughed, getting everyone's attention. "As you know, the school festival will take place on Sunday next week, which leaves us with nine days to practice. Nagisa here has most of the lines memorized; now all we need is the perfection of execution. Also, props. Nagisa, are you sure that Sanae-san is fine with making your costume?"

"Yes. Mom said that she'd be glad to make my costume in her spare time. She's a good seamstress in her own right, so that should be no problem at all," said Nagisa.

_Here it is. Time to set my plans into motion._

"Nagisa, would you be averse to the idea of holding practices in your house?" I asked. "I think it's a good idea, so that you can feel more at home and concentrated. I remember the first time I saw you practicing for this play outside your house in the twilight; you looked perfectly at home there. Fujibayashi and I—" I looked towards Fujibayashi, who nodded, "—thought that this would be a good idea."

"I'd be happy to have our practices in my house after school," replied Nagisa happily. "I'm sure Mom and Dad would be happy to have all of you over; after all, they took very kindly to Okazaki-san the first time he came over."

Upon hearing this, Sunohara spat out the strawberry milk that he had been drinking.

"Say what? Okazaki's been to your house, Nagisa-chan?"

"Yes," replied Nagisa happily. "Mom and Dad took a liking to him straightaway."

Kyou looked at me with her eyebrows raised. I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Kotomi who was just eating her bento quietly, seemingly oblivious to everything that had been going on right now.

"In any case, Nagisa's parents are… interesting people," I said carefully, while Nagisa just chuckled at my summary of her parents. "So, that's settled then. Nagisa, starting later after class, let's hold meetings and practices at your house."

Nagisa nodded and she said,

"Once again everyone, I'd like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making my dreams come true."

"Don't mention it Nagisa," said Kyou confidently. "We're your friends, after all. Even this idiot Sunohara," she admitted grudgingly.

"Sunohara-san is a nice person after all," said Nagisa, smiling at Sunohara. Sunohara jumped up and grabbed Nagisa's hands with his own.

"Let's elope, Nagisa-chan! Your father and mother will give us their blessing and we'll both enter music school and travel to Paris![3]" exclaimed Sunohara.

"Idiot!" shouted Kotomi, swatting Sunohara smack on the forehead with a _harisen_.

"That's great Kotomi, put that idiot in his place," said Kyou venomously.

"Onee-chan…," muttered Fujibayashi nervously while Kotomi continued to hit Sunohara in the face with the _harisen_. As this occurred, Nagisa was laughing heartily at the situation.

"I'm sure Mom and Dad would love to have everyone over," said Nagisa happily. "Oh, what is it Okazaki-san?"

I got her attention and whispered, "There's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you privately later, alright?"

Nagisa appraised me lightly and nodded uncertainly. Good, now all I have to do is to plant the question involving the secret that Sanae-san and the old man were keeping from her.

_Keikaku doori[4]._

_/_

"Oh my, so you all are Nagisa's friends?" said Sanae in wonder when I, Kotomi, Kyou, Fujibayashi, Sunohara, and Nagisa arrived at Furukawa Bread.

"I'm home!" chirped Nagisa happily.

"Good afternoon, Furukawa-san," the rest of us said. "We talked to Nagisa earlier about holding practices here for the play we wanted to do for the school festival on Sunday, nine days from now," I said.

"Nagisa told me about that; that she was finally getting things done in the drama club she established with your help, Okazaki-san," said Sanae. "Please, come in."

"Excuse us," we all intoned, and when I passed her, Sanae-san stopped me for a moment by lightly holding my uniform's sleeve.

"What is it, Sanae-san?" I inquired.

"Thank you for helping Nagisa find friends. I'm sure Akio-san will be happy for her when he sees you all here," replied Sanae-san jovially.

"Is the old man out?" I asked nonchalantly, realizing my mistake of addressing her husband as "old man" too late.

"Old man? Oh, you mean Akio-san. Yes, he's out playing baseball with the neighborhood kids," said Sanae-san gesturing to the park across the street.

I looked over at the direction where Sanae-san was pointing and I saw the old man there, pitching fastballs at the kids.

"Bully," I muttered under my breath. "Oh Sanae-san, I apologize for addressing your husband in such an informal manner."

"Don't worry about it, Okazaki-san. I'm sure Akio-san will feel flattered that you refer to him in such a friendly way," replied Sanae-san, smiling.

_Friendly way…?_

"Would you like to try my latest bread, Okazaki-san?" asked Sanae-san hopefully. "Today's theme is the incorporation of _durian_ fruit. Despite its smell, the fruit itself is quite sweet and delectable."

"Hey Tomoya, stop idling around and get your ass in here. Nagisa and the rest of us are waiting," called out Kyou's voice from the guest room.

"Excuse me Sanae-san, but it seems like I'm being looked for. Please send our greeting to your husband when he returns," I said.

_Saved by Kyou. Phew._ I took my leave and went into the Furukawa household, and opened the first door on my right. Inside was everyone, gathered around a low table and there was a wooden chest in the corner of the room. On the table was the play's script, and Kyou was glaring at me.

"I was held up by Sanae-san. Don't kill me," I said, raising my hands in surrender, as Kyou's glare softened. I sat on the floor beside Sunohara and Kyou when Kyou began to talk.

"Good, so everyone's here. Tomoya, we had Youhei here take this wooden chest from the second floor of their house. It contains quite a few costumes, according to Nagisa, but I think she should still have one tailor-made by her mom. In any case, this is a costume chest so Nagisa can get ideas for any special costume she likes," said Kyou briskly.

"I'll do that for a bit. Ryou-chan, could you help me pick?" asked Nagisa, and Fujibayashi complied as the two of them began to sift through the chest containing old costumes.

I then realized that the existence of this chest could be used as a reason for my guessing that the old man used to be an actor. However, I turned my mind to the actual matter at hand and spoke.

"We have to divide the labor too, as Koumura said. I think Kotomi should handle sounds, while Sunohara and Kyou do the curtains and background props. I'll control the lights along with Fujibayashi. Basically, the three of us will be up in the control room in the auditorium, while Sunohara and Kyou work behind the curtain. Are there any objections?" I asked.

No one replied but Kyou spoke up suddenly,

"I'm surprised Tomoya, that you can actually be competent when depended upon."

I rolled my eyes at the comment and continued,

"No objections? Good. Nagisa, since you're the lone actress, I'll need you to draw up a plan for the lighting sequences by Thursday next week, at the latest. Fujibayashi and I will need some time to work on the lighting, assuming that we're given a dry run a day before the festival itself. Kotomi, you handle the music, alright? CDs will do, I'm sure. We should have a listening session on or before Thursday next week, and Kotomi and Nagisa can work on the BGM sequencing."

"I'll do my best, Tomoya-kun!" said Kotomi happily. "What kind of music would you like, Nagisa-chan?"

Nagisa put a finger on her lips while Fujibayashi was examining a frilly pink Victorian dress beside her.

"Something that gives off an air of fantasy and mysticism, preferably classical music. Music that mystifies and soothes the audience into empathizing with the main character of the story," said Nagisa sagely.

Fujibayashi, Kyou, myself, and even Sunohara, who was lying down on his back, gazed at Nagisa with awe.

"Wow, you do know your stuff Nagisa," said Kyou, appraising Nagisa carefully.

Nagisa blushed at the attention she was getting and she turned to Kotomi who had taken out a notepad and was scribbling intently on it.

"Are you listing songs, Kotomi-chan?" asked Nagisa.

"Yes. Nagisa-chan, the list should be ready by Monday. On Tuesday, we could have a listening session like what Tomoya-kun suggested," said Kotomi quietly.

The afternoon proceeded as we continued to prepare for the play, and nightfall soon arrived. Sanae-san stuck her head in the room and said,

"Dinner is ready everyone. I'd be happy if you all stayed for dinner!"

She smiled at us and Kyou replied,

"Thank you Furukawa-san, but Ryou and I have to go home, since I have to cook dinner for our family. Thank you for having us over today and for the next week. We'll be in your care."

Both of them bowed as they began to tidy up the things they were working on: Nagisa and Fujibayashi were packing the costumes away while Kyou filed away papers containing drawings of props and the backdrop.

"I'd like to stay Sanae-san!" piped up Sunohara excited when Kyou grabbed him by the tie.

"You're leaving Youhei; nobody likes freeloaders," snapped Kyou, dragging him out by the tie while Sanae looked on uncertainly. Fujibayashi bowed to her and they left, though I heard them greet the old man who was apparently manning the counter before they closed up for the day.

I, on the other hand, had every intention of staying for dinner. I was in no mood to buy food from the convenience store on the way home, so I decided to take Sanae-san up on her offer. I turned to Kotomi, who was silently seated across Nagisa and I on the table.

"Kotomi, what about you?" I asked, feeling concerned for her.

She shuffled slightly while sitting in a _seiza_ pose when she said,

"I'll do whatever you do, Tomoya-kun."

I nodded at her and turned to Sanae, who was looking at us expectantly.

"Kotomi and I will be in your care, Sanae-san. Thank you for the offer," I said, bowing.

"The pleasure's all ours, isn't that right Nagisa?" asked Sanae turning to Nagisa who smiled.

"Of course! We'd be glad to have Okazaki-san and Kotomi-chan over anytime!" chirped Nagisa happily.

Sanae then smiled and said,

"Okazaki-san, Kotomi-chan, this way," leaving the room as she said so. Nagisa followed her mother leaving me and Kotomi alone in the guestroom.

I extended my hand to her while staring at the floor in embarrassment.

"Let's go, Kotomi," I said gruffly, blushing slightly.

I felt Kotomi take my hand and she smiled at me and said,

"Let's go, Tomoya-kun."

/

"It's good that my beloved daughter is finally pursuing her dream of acting," said Akio jovially, taking a sip of sake.

The five of us were seated at the Furukawas' dining table, with the old man sitting beside Sanae-san, Nagisa at the head and me and Kotomi beside each other across Nagisa's parents. Dinner was a pleasant affair, and Sanae-san's dishes were steamed fish, chop suey, and some _takoyaki_ going along with jasmine tea and pepper fried rice.

"It's thanks to Okazaki-san here, Dad," said Nagisa, who was already finished with her meal. "If it weren't for his help, if he hadn't introduced me to everyone, none of this would have come to fruition."

"Good job brat, you made my daughter happy. Now you can beg for her from me by getting down on your knees and kissing my feet after I play baseball," said Akio smugly.

I calmly swallowed the octopus dumpling in my mouth and took a sip of tea before calmly replying.

"Not going to happen."

"Excuse me for my rudeness, but I'm feeling sweaty and dirty. I'll go take a bath first, okay Mom, Dad?" piped up Nagisa politely.

"Nagisa, can I take a bath with you?" asked Akio brusquely, chugging more of the sake. "I can check if you still have that birthmark on your butt if you want me to."

Nagisa blushed beet-red, mortified at her father's comments.

"No way Dad, that's embarrassing. I'm big now, so you can't do that!" exclaimed Nagisa, turning away and leaving hurriedly due to embarrassment.

With Nagisa gone, Akio spoke to the room at large.

"I haven't had the opportunity to poke fun at my daughter for a long time," he said nonchalantly. "It seemed like she was always sad when she started her second senior year… You two do know Nagisa's repeating, right?"

Kotomi and I both nodded and Akio continued.

"In any case, I'm pleased that she found good friends like you lot to lean on. We haven't seen her this happy in a long time, isn't that right, Sanae?"

"Yes, Akio-san. Nagisa has been doing better since Okazaki-san came over here last time," agreed Sanae heartily, her chopsticks expertly picking at the diced bits of fish on the serving platter.

"Say brat, are you and Ichinose going out?" Akio asked me bluntly. "Sanae told me she spotted you holding her hand on the way to the dining hall."

Sanae-san looked at me with an apologetic look on her face while I squared myself up in trying to answer the old man. I looked at Kotomi from the corner of my eye and saw that she was staring at her plate, her chopsticks gripping a piece of _takoyaki_. It was obvious that the question the old man bluntly put forward was grating on her mind. I decided to spare us both the trouble by answering truthfully.

"Nothing like that at this point in time," I said airily, gesturing with my hand as I said so. "Kotomi and I are just really good childhood friends, isn't that right Kotomi?"

Kotomi looked at me with the _takoyaki_ still firmly clamped by her chopsticks and she nodded.

"Well there you go," I finished, scooping up the last of my pepper fried rice into my mouth and downing it with tea feeling satisfied with the meal. "Thanks for the food," I said, putting my hands together and bowing as I did so.

The old man and Sanae-san just nodded at my reply and Sanae-san then said,

"Are you both headed home now?"

I weighed my thoughts about the matter; I hadn't planted much of the hints I wanted to plant on Nagisa yet, and I wanted to address both the old man and Sanae-san about the issue of their previous careers. After a while, I turned to Kotomi and said,

"Kotomi, is it okay if I bring you up to the usual intersection?"

"Sure, Tomoya-kun," replied Kotomi as she ate the last of her steamed fish. "Thanks for the food," she said, clasping her hands together and bowing.

Both of us stood up and bowed to both Sanae-san and the old man.

"I'll be back after I bring Kotomi over; I have a few things to discuss with Nagisa."

The old man raised his eyebrow at that and both of us exited the room, then Furukawa Bread. Kotomi and I began to walk slowly towards the intersection that branched off towards her home, and I thought about why she didn't want me seeing her house. She told me that she still had issues of her own to contend with, so with the same respect she gave me, I should also not pry further. We arrived at the intersection after a few minutes where not a single word was exchanged between us both.

"Sanae-san cooks well, doesn't she?" I asked, breaking the silence as I turned to Kotomi with the question.

"She does. I want to be the same for you too, Tomoya-kun," replied Kotomi, looking at me intently.

I was lost there for a second with Kotomi's reply.

"Huh?"

"I want you to eat my food and say that my cooking is good too. Tomorrow, I'll cook a really nice lunch for the two of us, okay Tomoya-kun?" said Kotomi softly, looking at me with what appeared to be affection in her eyes.

I looked back at her warmly and said softly,

"I would love it if you cooked lunch for me, Kotomi-chan."

The feelings were surging through me and before I could control myself, I dropped my briefcase on the ground with a thud and hugged her body gently. I heard her exclaim "Ah!" softly in surprise but before long, her arms encircled around me too.

After a short while, we broke away from each other and we looked at each other warmly, our cheeks tinged with red. I picked up the briefcase I dropped on the ground with a bemused smile on my face.

"Give me some more time, Kotomi-chan… I promise, when I get this all sorted out, I'll come for you. So please wait a short while more, okay?" I said tenderly, gently touching Kotomi's cheek with my right hand.

Kotomi nodded and said,

"Tomoya-kun… I… I want you to call me Kotomi-chan when we're alone."

She stared at the ground in embarrassment, and I immediately thought: doesn't she want everyone to call her Kotomi-chan? She's being embarrassed about me doing it… I smiled inside at this thought and I replied,

"I would love to. Anyway, I'll be seeing you tomorrow; I'll be waiting for your lunch, okay? I'm headed back to Nagisa's house since I have to talk to her parents about something."

Kotomi nodded and said,

"Good night, Tomoya-kun."

"Good night… Kotomi-chan," I said softly, as though my voice was caressing her very name in its intonation.

The two of us finally turned away from each other and I went back the way I came towards Furukawa Bread. I had to talk to Nagisa first to plant the hint, then I'd talk to her parents shortly afterwards. I want this play to go as smoothly as possible and I'll do whatever it takes for that to happen.

/

_[1] – Hatsune Island, the island where __**Da Capo **__takes place._

_[2] – This would be __**Jigoku Shoujo/Hell Girl**__._

_[3] – Slightly reminiscent of __**Nodame Cantabile**__._

_[4] – Literally means "Just as planned." Used in/famously by Light Yagami in __**Death Note.**_

_Since it was getting long, I decided to split this chapter into two so that it wouldn't be that unwieldy to read. Not much happened here except for fluff though…_

_Read and review please! :)_


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